Finding Home
by TheHeartofWriting
Summary: Coming home meant facing her biggest fears. Aria was a changed person, she was a mother. Living on the streets, she carried her life in her backpack and now it was all going to change. She wanted her old life back, but she knew the consequences of people finding out her biggest secrets. Her biggest fears. Coming home, she had to do it. It would only make her stronger in the end.
1. Last Ditch Effort

**A/N: Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for checking out my new story! I LOVE REVIEWS because they give me a sense of what you think of my writing. I would like to thank my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya who continues to help me greatly with this story. PLEASE REVIEW & ENJOY!**

**I also have a Twitter account where you can leave me reviews atHeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF. **

**Finding Home**

**Chapter One: Last Ditch Effort**

❡Hello my friend❡

I remember when you were

So alive with your wide eyes to the light

Then the light that you had when your heart was stolen

Now you say that it ain't worth stayin'

You wanna run but you're hesitatin'

❡I'm talkin' to me❡

{Lost Get Found by Britt Nicole}

Life doesn't always go as planned, that's something Aria Montgomery knew all too well. At first impressions she looked like any other teenager, she had beautiful chocolate curls, doe eyes with a bright expression, and perfectly smooth skin. But that was Aria just over two years ago.

Now, you would barely recognize her…maybe if you look closely you can see the same doe like eyes hidden under her tangled dark hair and under the layer of dirt on her face you can see it's just as flawless as before.

That's who Aria is now.

Her junior year of high school had started off just like any other year, spending the early morning hours scanning the stacks of books in the library alone, laughing with her four best friends at study hour, and meeting her mother's eyes as she passed by her classroom every day. Just another typical year at Rosewood High, the same teens she saw every year and almost every day of her life.

That's how it was in a small town.

That was, until Aria met Ezra Fitz. A chance encounter to say the least, one she would ponder the rest of her life. The first time she ever laid eyes on him would forever change the course of her life, and still, she didn't regret it.

{EZRIA}

"Luca no!" Aria ranted, for what feels like the hundredth time as she scolds her two-year-old son as he continues to throw the goldfish crackers the secretary at the front desk gave him onto the tile floor.

The Hope shelter were currently staying at had a brochure for a free health care clinic, but to be honest this place looked more like an old warehouse with makeshift curtains for walls to allow for privacy. It was cold, and the buzzing of the lights above Aria made her head hurt, but it's Luca she was more concerned about. She re-adjusted him so he didn't slide off her lap as she fixed the red plaid shirt he had on.

With tired eyes and itchy hand me-down clothes, Aria sat on a padded table trying to keep Luca calm as they waited for a doctor or at least a nurse to come into the room. It's been over an hour since they arrived from the shelter, she knew this because it took a half an hour standing in line just to sign in, ten minutes to fill out the necessary forms, and another thirty minutes to be placed in this room, and now they wait. Luca's dark curls fall into his face as he sniffles and rubs his dark blue eyes, the signal Aria knews all too well that he is sleepy.

"Shh…shh…it's going to be okay." Aria tried to sooth Luca by rocking him. She kissed the top of his head to calm him down, but nothing seemed to help. For a two year old, he seemed much bigger in her thin arms and she pulled on her purple sweatshirt as it fell off her shoulder.

Once again Luca threw one of the crackers down onto the hard floor, it landing at the edge of the curtain, just inches away from the door. Frustrated, Aria took the package from his fisted grip and hid them behind her back. It was no use trying to fight with a fussy infant. At this point she wished she had at least gotten him down for a small nap before coming here, but by then it might have been too late seeing how the bus only makes three stops at the shelter a day.

The curtain slid open and a woman in her early thirties appeared before the two in the room. She reminded Aria of her mother, her smile warm as she stood tall and took in the sight before her. Her dirty blonde hair was drawn back in a ponytail and although she had on a white lab coat with her name Janette etched in cursive blue stitching, Aria could clearly see the peach t-shirt, blue jeans, and black flats she has on underneath. The look upon the woman's face was one that Aria saw often, she figured she was thinking what most people think…

Here was another young clueless teenager who knows nothing about children.

Taking a step further into the cramped space, the women in white stopped when a crunching sound reaches her ears. Looking down, the nurse lifted her shoes and revealed a smashed goldfish cracker that Luca had thrown to the ground moments before.

"I'm so sorry, I promise to clean it up before we leave." Aria apologized, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Oh, it's no problem." The nurse waved it off with a smile. "I'm Janette." She stated the obvious. Looking down at her clipboard in hand, Aria watched as Janette flipped the pink sheet Aria had just filled out and cleared her throat.

"Is this Luca?" She asked, gesturing to the little boy in Aria's arms.

"Yes, I call him Luc." Aria swallows, taking a deep breath. "I'm his mom, Aria." She flattened down Luca's hair as she stared at the nurse.

Closing the white curtain behind her, Janette stepped around the small orange crackers on the floor as she maneuvered into the room.

"How old he?" Janette asked, placing her clipboard and pen down onto the table next to Aria as she stood beside them.

"He's two years old." Aria lifted Luca onto her lap as she watched Janette take a pair of blue surgical gloves from her coat pocket and slip them on, hearing the latex stretch and snap into place.

"I-I noticed he had a runny nose for about a week. I tried giving him cough medicine but it just won't get better." Aria detailed, as Janette placed her hands on top Luca's forehead just before he sneezed all over Aria's arm.

"Hmm…" Janette nodded as she scribbled down a small note onto the pink papers next to Aria. Aria squinted her eyes hard to try and read the writing but the chicken scratch was unreadable to Aria.

"He has a slight fever too." Janette remarked. "Can I take a better look at you?" she held her arms out to see if Luca would comes to her, but he was uninterested in her and just squirmed all the more in Aria's lap.

Once again Janette tried to connect with the little boy.

"Hi there Luc…" She watched as he finally looked up at her and pointed to the lollypop in her coat pocket.

"He doesn't talk much…" Aria confirmed, trying to draw Luca's attention away from the candy by taking his hand into hers' and kissing the back of it.

"Hey Luc, after this, why don't we go to the park? You want to play on the swings?" She leaned down towards his ear.

Janette sighed and watched the two interact for a moment. Taking a step back, she spotted Aria's orange backpack seated on the floor next to the table and bit her lower lip in thought. "How old are you?" Janette questions, looking up to Aria as she turned her attention from Luca to the nurse and then down to her shoes, which were dirty and a hole on the bottom.

"Eighteen…" Aria whispers shyly, licking her lips and squeezing Luca tighter.

"You don't have any family who can help you?" Janette inquires further.

"I-I have my parents," Aria stuttered. "And a brother, but they are out of the picture." Aria shook her head. She missed her family so much,

"What about Luc's father?" Janette watched for Aria's reaction and for a brief moment she could see a flicker of emotion before it was gone.

"It's just the two of us…" Aria answered shortly, leaving nothing more to be said. Janette quickly got the hint that it was a touchy subject and decided to move on. The subject she chose however still it wasn't much better than the first.

"Where do you live?" She questioned.

Aria took a moment to think; opening her mouth and closing it again quickly, debating on whether or not to tell the truth.

She had quickly made friends on the streets, and the friends that she had gained warned her never to give out too much information away...especially to the authorities.

Coming to the clinic was a big step for Aria, not knowing what would happen if anyone found out about the conditions she and her baby son were living in. She had made the decision to come, despite the fact that she had run away from everything that had happened in her life…but she knew her son needed help.

"Right now we are staying at the Hope Shelter downtown." Aria cleared her throat and eyed Janette carefully. "It's not much, but we have each other." She smiled, hoping desperately that her answer would silence the alarms that she knew would have been ringing in Janette's mind.

"I see…" Janette nodded, noticing the tension quickly building between herself and Aria as the conversation progressed.

She needed Aria to trust her, and if that meant not pushing the serious issues until later on, then that's what she decided she would do.

Getting back to the examination, she took her stethoscope from around her neck and placed the small buds into her ears. Lifting the front Luca's shirt, she's surprised to find a red rash on the center of his stomach and touched it gently to get a closer look.

"How long has he had this rash for" Janette glanced at Aria, watching as she thought back through their life to remember exactly when it appeared.

"Um…" Aria counted back in her head, "about a month." She felt embarrassed again, realizing she should have put that down on the form that she had filled in while they were waiting. "I- I think it's from his clothes." Aria explained, she had been concerned about the rash at first, but it had been there so long she had almost forgotten about it.

She was desperately trying to convince Janette that she wasn't a bad mother, but what could she do? With no money to buy new clothes and to have a safe roof over their heads, she was doing all that she could.

"People drop them off at the bin outside the shelter and then they wash them for us before handing them out. I figured he was just allergic to the soap or something." Aria shook her head again, desperately hoping it was nothing serious that she had ignored all this time.

Aria watched as Janette placed the round metal instrument upon Luca's chest as he releases a nasty cough

"Okay, well if you don't mind I'm going to get my collages opinion on something." Janette explained, as she took the buds out of her ears and placed her stethoscope back around her neck. Aria gives a small nod and smiles, her nerves beginning to rise as she began to chew on the insides of her lips.

"Okay." She agreed, watching as Janette swiftly walked to the curtain and peeked her head outside. She motioned with her hands for someone to come to their area and soon Aria saw the shadow of a tall body outside of the white curtain.

"Dr. Truman, this is Aria. Aria this is Dr. Matthew Truman." She introduced the two as the tall doctor walked into the room. He was handsome; Aria had to give him that, with his hair is dark brown, big brown eyes and closely shaven face.

"Hi." Aria, shyly whispers, pulling Luca close as the doctor approached them slowly.

"Hello." He acknowledged her back, as he pulled on a fresh pair of blue gloves.

"This is Luc, her son. He is two years old and I can detect a low grade fever and cold, but I want your opinion about his breathing." Janette ran through her assessment rather quickly, handing him the chart that was once next to Aria.

Dr. Truman glanced down at the chart before walking towards Aria and Luca as Aria held him still; he placed the chart down on the table and gave them a smile. Mirroring what Janette had done a few seconds' earlier; Dr. Truman removed his stethoscope from around his neck and placed the buds in his ears.

"Hi, there buddy…" He lifted Luca's shirt and listened tentatively to the breathing of the little boy before sighing and glancing at Janette who knew exactly what he's thinking. Aria watched the exchange between the two as Dr. Truman removed the earpieces from his ears and squeezed the instrument in his left hand.

"Is everything okay?" Aria asked concerned, her heart pounding in her chest as if she had just run a marathon at record speed.

"We should take him over to our private clinic as soon as possible…" Dr. Truman left no room for discussion.

"Are you sure?" Aria responded terrified at his immediate decision and the consequences that it would lead to. "I-I don't have the money right now but-"

"Don't worry about that right now…" Janette cut her off, understanding the doctor's urgency…they would sort finances later; there were more important matters at hand.

"Yes, it would be best to get him there immediately." Dr. Truman reiterated, handing Luca's chart off to nurse Janette before helping Aria and Luca off the table.

"Do you have a ride?" Janette questioned, already knowing the answer without even having to ask.

"I-I took the bus, but-" Aria could barely even think, her mind swirling with all the possibilities of what's going on. She knew Luca was sick, but not this bad. Would they try to take him from her? She was still a fog as she bent down to pick up her backpack and heard Janette's voice.

"Why don't I drive you there in my car? It's just outside…" She led Aria out of the room and towards the door. All Aria can do is walk behind her as Dr. Truman followed behind. She held Luca as close to her as she could, silently promising Luca she wouldn't let anything bad happen to him.

A small army of people in lab coats and colorful scrubs scurried about the tiny building. Shoes stampede against the hardwood floor, and muffled voices fell upon Aria's deaf ears as she tried to keep her thoughts straight.

Pacing back and forth in the Luca's private hospital room Aria couldn't help but turn to her nervous habit of biting her nails almost to the point of bleeding; it was all she could do to stop herself from breaking down.

Phones rang and machines beeped, but she was completely lost in her own little world, staring down at her baby lying in the big hospital bed. Starving and sleep deprived she could barely stand on her feet as she ignored the outside world and wondered how this all happened. She thought that she was a good mother, or at least she had always tried to keep him safe.

A white cotton blanket was draped around Luca's tiny form as his head rested comfortably against the fluffy pillow as an oxygen mask rested against his tiny to help his breathing.

Stepping closer to the bed, Aria placed her hands on the metal bed railing, her knuckles turning as white as the bed sheets as she watched the gentle rise and fall of her son's chest, the mask over his nose fogging up every time he exhaled a shallow breath. Biting down on her tongue, hard, she suppressed the urge to cry. Over the past few years she had learned to push away her emotions to protect Luca and despite the fact that he was sleeping she didn't want him to pick up on her mood.

A warm hand gently touched her shoulder, making Aria flinch at the sudden contact, though she didn't bother to turn around to see who is was.

"I'm fine." She sniffled, as she brushed the hand off her shoulder and proceeded to wipe her nose on her purple sweatshirt. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat, not taking her eyes off Luca for a moment.

"I just wanted to let you know that I have some things I need to deal with, but I will be back to check on you and Luc in a little bit." She could hear Janette's soft voice behind her, all Aria can do was nod her head.

{EZRIA}

Janette's green eyes followed the young doctor's steps as he emerged from a patient's room and walked down the hall to his office, leaving the door slightly ajar. Glancing back at the short brunette staring down at her little boy, Janette left the room and walked towards Dr. Truman Truman's office.

Not even bothering to knock, she entered the cosy wood panel office where she found him sitting in the black swivel chair behind his desk. Squeezing his stapler in his left hand, he looked down at a medical file. It wasn't until Janette closed the door behind her that he looked up and noticed her standing there silently.

"That little boy is very sick." He sighed, as he closed the file in his line of sight and pushed it away. "Where's the girl?" He gestured to the people outside the four walls.

"Aria?" Janette clarified, Dr. Truman nodded his head, as Janette stepped further into the room with her hands on her hips. "I told her she could stay with Luc." She turned to look out the window and through the blinds she can see Aria still standing beside Luca.

"Did she say anything about family or where she lives?" Dr. Truman disturbed her from her staring and pulled her attention back into the room.

Spinning around towards the doctor's voice, she watched as he pulled on his tie to loosen the knot at its centre.

"Well she told me she has parents and a brother but they're out of the picture, as is Luc's father." Janette detailed, as she circled the chair across from Dr. Truman and took a seat. "She told me she lives in the Hope Shelter downtown." She added, leaning forward to take the medical file marked Luca Montgomery off his desk.

"I think we should at least start him on IV fluids and see how he responds to medication." Dr. Truman stated in his studious doctor's tone of voice. "Maybe you can take her out for a burger or something while the kid rests and find out more." He recommended.

At this Janette raised her eyes from the file, peeking over the top to spy him looking out the window in Aria's direction. She knew what he's thinking, there has to be more to Aria's story and being near Luca is not only going to keep her choked up, but also sick with worry.

"Maybe I can contact her parents; use her social security number to try and get her some help." Janette flipped to the last page of Luca's file where Aria's basic information was neatly written down. Janette sighed, she shouldn't have assumed finding information would have been that easy and should have guessed most of Aria's detailed information would have been left blank.

"No." Dr. Truman huffed as Janette scrunched her forehead in confusion. "We don't even know what her past home life is like. For all we know she could have been abused or run away." He elaborated, his tone becoming more assertive as the conversation progressed.

"She's only eighteen," Janette sniped back, "She needs to be in high school." Angrily she tossed Luca's file down in front of the doctor. "That little boy should not be out on the streets in his condition." Janette asserted as she pointed to the file in anger.

"I agree." Dr. Truman commented, making Janette calm down as she sat back down. "But for now, just let her open up to you." He said, offering advice and hoping Janette would take it.

{EZRIA}

The weather outside was rather crisp for early November so Janette and Aria opted to eat inside the small bar, sitting beside the window to appreciate how beautiful the streets of Philadelphia could be in wintertime.

"How is your burger?" Janette asked, taking a sip of her sweet tea. She watched the thin girl before her take yet another hardy bite before nodding her head.

"It's good." Aria mumbled, swallowing and then washing it down with a long draw of her cherry coke. "Thank you, I really appreciate this." She smiled. It had been the first time for a long time that someone had showed her any kind of care or compassion.

"It's no problem, really." Janette smiled back before popping a French-fry into her mouth.

Staring down at the meat on her plate, Aria couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that crossed her mind.

"I used to be vegetarian, but I've learned to just take what I can get, I guess." Aria blushes slightly.

Taking in what Aria just said, Janette was at a loss for words. What do you say to a child who has to fend for food when she has a freezer chocked full of food at home?

"Well, what's important is that you eat." Janette encouraged as Aria finished her burger.

Watching Aria tuck a stand of hair behind her ear and proceed to pick up her burger again, she hoped that she could get Aria to open up to her more.

"I grew up here in Philly and I have yet to find a better burger joint than PitStop. Where did you grow up?" Janette gestured towards Aria, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Aria blinked a few times, the wheels practically turning in her head as she thought of what to say.

"Um…I um." She squirmed in the leather booth. "I bounced around from place to place." She closed her mouth and ran her tongue over her teeth as she saw the blonde across from her nod her head, waiting for Aria to elaborate further. "My dad works at a college and my mom at a high school when she's not painting." Aria wasn't sure whether she had shared too much, but it was too late now.

So her parents are educators, and by the sound of it very smart Janette pondered to herself as she watched Aria, hoping she would continue.

Aria took a deep breath before she continued. "My dad-" she paused, "He took us to Iceland for his sabbatical when I was younger," So she travelled too, Janette gathered. "But for the most part I lived here all my life." Aria shrugged her shoulders.

Number one rule on the streets, never give out too much information. To Janette, Aria was like an old book, you have to read her nice and slowly, and carefully, to catch the details. Her pages worn and creased with age, age beyond her years and still she holds life and keeps you guessing.

"Really? Right here in Philly?" Janette asked.

"Um no." Aria took a deep breath, glancing down at her empty plate. "I've moved around a lot." She restated. "Rosewood...mainly." She let out before she could even comprehend what she had said.

Caught off guard, Aria shut her mouth. For the first time the two remained silent as Aria took in her surroundings. A jukebox sat dusty in the corner next to the bathroom and a long bar counter is to the side of them where a few customers sat on swivel chairs. Music floated through speaks around them, but Aria couldn't recognize the country tune. The atmosphere is dingy but sitting next to the window allowed for some light to peek inside.

Glancing back at the nurse across from her, Aria realized she's been looking at her, puzzled for the past few minutes, as if trying to uncover the enigma of who she was. Aria knew she has to say more, she knew she couldn't just keep repeating herself over and over again.

"Rosewood's a small town not too far from here." Aria smiled at the memories left behind. Janette once again could see that flicker of emotion evident in her hazel eyes, this time it lasted a little longer.

"Sounds like the perfect place to raise a family." She remarked, hoping that it hadn't cut off the subject completely. Aria's smile slowly faded, as she tugged on the sleeves of her sweatshirt under the table in nervous habit.

"Is Luc okay?" Aria timidly asked. Janette could hear the unease in the young mother's voice and held out a few minutes to gather her thoughts. She had to tell her the truth, but she needed Aria to realize that there was still hope for anything in life.

"I will be honest with you, he is very sick." She paused, assessing Aria's reaction. She watched her take in a shaky breath as tears welled up in her eyes. "But the medication we gave him should be helping." She gave a small smile, a sign of hope.

Taking another deep breath, Aria swallowed the tears down and nodded, giving a weak smile.

"Good." She sighed, "I know what you must be thinking…" Aria stopped, placing her hands on her half empty glass of pop, her fingers ran against the cool perspiration.

Janette furrowed her eyes together as she tried to understand what Aria meant by that.

"I know I'm only eighteen, but Luc is everything I have." Aria's smile spread from ear to ear.

"You don't think your parents are worried about you?" Janette eyed Aria, watching as she turned away to stare out the window.

A few people briskly walked down the asphalt streets, trying to beat the window that whipped around them and dodge the people under winter hats.

"No." Aria shrugged, her eyes still focused on the outside world. " I mean-" she paused. "I just-" she sighed. "I just had to get away." Aria bit down on her tongue to keep herself from giving in to her emotions.

Turning back towards Janette, Aria scanned for her reaction, wishing she could tell her the truth. The truth that if given the chance, she would jump at the chance to see her friends again...they were close, closer than close, they told each other secrets, but not this one.

"I had my friends, but I doubt they would even care about me now." She stomached the thought, looking back at how much had changed in such a short time.

"Didn't you say you have a brother?" Janette goes back over their previous conversation in her head. Aria smiled at the thought of Mike, and constantly wonders what he's like now that he's seventeen and almost done with school. She remembered just how close they use to be before everything went south in her life as well as her parent's marriage.

"Yeah, his name is Mike. He is a year younger than me, but he was always protective." Aria laughed, thinking back to fond memories of all the times Mike had stood between her and something or someone that was trying to hurt her.

Janette's idea of Aria staying with her brother was now shattered, seeing how he's even younger than Aria, but she could see the happy memories in her eyes.

"Sounds like you two were close." She commented, watching as Aria smiled happily and nodded.

"Oh we were, but I'm not even sure my brother even knows what happened. My dad probably made up some story." Aria's voice turned to ice as she played with her straw in her drink.

Janette had never seen this side of Aria, and figured she had finally found the big secret; it had something to do with her father. Wanting to defuse the cold in Aria's words, Janette thawed the tension by asking another question.

"What about your mother?" she asked, Aria quickly shook her head and wrinkled her nose in distaste of the suggestion.

"I don't know?" She cleared her throat. "My dad would never let her get a word in edgeways; she always just went along with whatever he would say." Aria explained, the sour feelings she had towards her father building within her as the seconds ticked by.

The round clock perched on the wall slowly ticked and Aria brought her fingers to her teeth, not even noticing as she chewed her already bitten nails. She didn't like to think about the past, she had to be in the present and look towards the future for Luca's sake.

"Can we go back to Luc?" Aria asked, her hands slightly covering her mouth.

"Yes, let's go." Janette nodded as she placed a twenty and a five down on the table before standing to her feet to follow behind Aria who was already swiftly walking towards the exit with her orange backpack on her shoulder.

Janette's hands rested at two and ten o'clock on the steering wheel as she and Aria drove down the busy streets, with horns honking and people scurrying about. The car came to a halt at a red light and given the chance Janette turned towards Aria only to see her gazing out the window. Her elbow rested on the window ledge as she propped her head up to a comfortable height.

As a child Aria loved the long car rides and even the train while in Iceland, the smooth movements and scenery always seemed to relax her.

The light turned green and Janette removed her foot off the break and back onto the gas as she turned on her blinker and made a quick right hand turn into the parking lot. The medical clinic wasn't as busy as usual so Janette easily found a parking spot close to the front of the building, relieved so Aria wouldn't have to walk far in just a thin sweater.

Once the car was parked and the engine turned off Aria unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared herself to go back inside. Janette heard the sigh and placed a hand on Aria's shoulder.

"It's going to be okay. Walking through those doors and seeing the ones you love and care about sitting in a hospital bed is never easy, but Luc is getting the best possible care and we are all here for you." Janette smiled; as she watched Aria's nerves seem to settle.

"I just never thought it would be like this…" Aria confessed, looking at the entrance of the clinic.

Janette knew this must be difficult and wanted to help anyway she could, but realized Aria would have to come to her. She could only do so much and then leave the rest up to a divine intervention.

"Things will get better; you just have to have hope." Janette squeezed Aria's shoulder gently before sliding her hand down Aria's arm and to the cup holder were her cell phone and medical badge sat. With her items in hand she opened her car door and noticed Aria do the same, bracing herself for the wicked wind that engulfed them. Aria slammed the car door and rubbed her shoulders vigorously before stuffing her hands in her pockets to keep them as warm as possible.

Janette walked around the front of her car and clicked the handheld remote as she heard the double beep of the locking mechanism. She saw the way Aria reacted as a gust of wind nearly knocked her over and wrapped her arm around her as they swiftly walked to the double door entrance.

The front entrance was warm and welcoming with potted plants by the sign-in sheet. The walls of the waiting area were a mixture of navy blue and gray, to offset the intensity the waiting period for a more comfortable setting. The wood panelling and soft cushion chairs lined the wall as they passed through the room and down a long corridor to the main patient rooms. The air was clean and sterile, something Aria wasn't used to, but was thankful for the change. Passing room after room the pair finally reached an open door with Luca's name taped to the outside.

"Why don't you go in and see Luc, I have to sign back in." Janette directed, as they stood outside. Aria took another deep breath and nodded towards Janette before turning back towards Luca's room.

Going their separate ways, Janette backtracked towards the front desk and tapped her medical badge on the counter while she waited for Suzie, the head secretary to finish her phone call before glancing up to see her.

"Hi, Janette. How was your break?" She greeted her with a smile as she took Janette's card and swiped it through the system.

"It was good; Aria and I went to PitStop for a burger." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before reaching for her badge.

"Sounds good." Suzie acknowledged as she rummaged around her desk until she found the small sticky note under a pile of paperwork. "Here is that phone number you asked for." She handed the yellow square to Janette who beamed with delight.

"You're a miracle worker." Janette praised the woman behind the desk. "Is Mathew still doing rounds?" She questioned. Suzie eyed the record sheet for the day and browsed the names until she found the T's.

"Yes he is, but only for another hour and half." Suzie replied helpfully.

"Okay great, I should get back to work." Janette tucked the paper inside her pocket and waved off to the woman before heading down the corridor.

{EZRIA}

Aria stood once again at her little boy's bedside. Since leaving him earlier while he slept, she saw that the doctors had put him on some kind of medicine, one that runs through tiny tubes and into his small arm.

Aria couldn't help but brush her hand gently against his arm, wanting him to know she was here for him and wasn't going to leave. She felt guilty going for a burger while he lay here in the bed all alone. She had promised to not leave him and yet her naive hunger and nerves had gotten the best of her. The little boy shifted in his slumber and managed to kick the covers off of himself in the process. Aria gave a small giggle at this and tucked the blanket back around him and brushed his curly locks from his face as she bent down to give him a kiss to the forehead.

"I love you my little Luc." She whispered in his ear, sniffling back tears again. She straightened her posture as she glanced out the hospital door and saw Dr. Truman walking down hallway looking at a file in the process. He was just to pass Luca's door when Aria cut in front of him, nearly colliding with him as she stopped to gather her thoughts. "The tubes, they aren't hurting him, right?" She begged for an answer.

Slightly taken aback, Mathew closed his file and looked in on the little boy. "No. No, they aren't hurting him. It's how he gets his medicine. He's responding to it well." He explained, Aria nodded as relief washed over her features.

At that moment Janette came to stand beside the two as she checked on Luca.

Aria looked passed the two physicians and to the door outside, noticing how considerably dark it became over the last half hour. She realized she would never be able to get back to the shelter in time for closing, and quite frankly, she didn't want to leave Luca all by himself for a whole night.

"Janette, I-I was wondering if…" Aria scratched her head, pausing as she took in a deep breath. She wasn't one for admitting to needing help; it had been so long since she had to ask. "I mean…" Aria licked her lips, glancing down at her shoes. "Luc and I have never been apart and the shelter closes in an hour." Aria rambled, praying she wouldn't have to separate from her son.

"Don't worry." Janette's words instantly calmed Aria, yet her head shot up in surprise. She thought for sure they would tell her to come back tomorrow or something. "You can stay here until Luc is better; I told you we would never come between you two." Janette smiled, her tone serious yet still comforting in knowing how hard this must be for Aria. She wasn't about to make her leave, only to worry about Luc all the more. "Why don't you go back in with him and I will bring you a makeshift bed for the night." Janette reassured her by once again placing a hand on Aria's shoulder.

"Thank you. Thank you again, so much." Aria glanced between the two people standing before her who she could only call as a God send and nodded before bolting back into Luca's room.

Dr. Truman turned to walk away, but was stopped once again, but this time by Janette. He sighed in frustration at being pulled away again from his rounds, but one look in Janette's eyes and he knew he had to speak with her. He gestured for her to follow him to his office and once the door was shut she went right down to business.

"How is he really?" She asked, afraid to know the truth. Afraid to hear that Aria had made a bigger mess than she thought she had.

"He's going to get worse if he goes back out onto the streets in this cold weather." He stated firmly, running a hand through his thin hair.

"That's it…" Janette grumbled, removing the crumpled note from her pocket. "I'm doing what I should have done when I first saw them." She walked towards his desk and picked up the receiver.

"What? What are you doing?" He asked confused, turning towards her as he watched her punch in the numbers written on the note.

"I'm contacting Aria's parents. From what I understand I might be able to reach her mother, it's her father who was pushing her out." She balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder and somehow managed to glance up at him.

"I told you-" Dr. Truman started, but the look on Janette's face immediately shut him up.

"I know what you told me, but Aria can't keep living like this and if her parents turn out to be the bad guys like she says they are-"she paused. "Then she can stay with me." She finished.

"You're serious?" Dr. Truman was stunned at the words that just came out of her mouth. He knew she was dedicated, but to take things this far was new territory.

In their line of work the rule was to never get too attached because you never knew what would happen and yet here she was doing that very thing.

"I am…" Janette gave a small laugh, surprising even herself. "I asked the secretary earlier if she could possibly find Aria's mother's contact information just in case." She explained.

"You shouldn't have done that." He ground his teeth together, but she just rolled her eyes as the phone rang and rang, until finally a groggy voice broke through the line.

"Hello?" The muffled voice spoke.

"Hi, Mrs. Montgomery?" Janette smiled, hoping her tone of voice was friendly enough.

"This is she…" Ella answered.

"Hi, this is Janette Stevenson; I'm a nurse from Philadelphia's Private Practice." She licked her lips. She took a deep breath and prayed she was doing the right thing. "I believe your daughter Aria and her son Luca are here." She declared.

"Is everything okay?" Janette could hear the urgency in her voice, and for Janette that sounded like a good sign.

"Yes, Aria is fine." She wanted to easy her mind, but she knew she had to ask. "Would you mind coming down here?" She embarked upon the question without thinking twice.

"Yes. I'm on my way now. I should be there by early morning." She announced. Janette breathed a sigh of relief and glanced out the window at Aria.

"Okay, thank you so much. I look forward to seeing you soon." She said before the line went dead.

Hanging up the phone, Janette's eyes met Dr. Truman's and the look on his face was anything but please. Still she felt like this was the right thing to do and could only hope from the best. Dr. Truman continued to just stare at the young nurse and finally lifted his hands in defeat knowing there was nothing else he could say now that it was done except for...

"I hope you know what you're doing." He remarked coldly.

Not wanting to discuss this any further, Janette nodded her head and walked past him as she left his office. She removed her medical keys from her coat pocket and inserted the correct key into the lock before turning the handle. Inside the storage closet were stacks upon stacks of medical supplies along with pillows, blankets, and other items. Taking a pillow in one hand and placing a few cotton blankets on top of that, she proceeded back out into the hallway and towards Luca's room.

Janette tiptoed into the room hoping not to wake Luca, only to find Aria also passed out in the plastic chair beside Luca's bed. Her dark curls fell over her face as her used her folded arms as a pillow to rest her head upon. Janette's heart began to break all over again for the young girl and as she stepped closer she gave a small smile.

She carefully managed to lift Aria's head without waking her and placed the pillow on top of her arms so she would be more comfortable. She then draped the cotton blankets over her bent body before glancing between Aria and Luca.

For the rest of the night Janette would pop in every now and then to make sure they were okay, although neither woke during the night. She stayed well passed the end of her shift and lounged in Dr. Truman's office for catnaps as she waited until morning for when Aria's mother would arrive.

Desperately she hoped that everything would work out for the best.

**And here is Chapter One! I have been working this story out in my head for over a year now and I am so happy its finally coming down on paper. I want this story to come across as very realistic and show Aria's independence. I know many people have started stories like this, but I promise this one is different. Its going to have strength, love, and even some dark turns. I have about 21 chapters already outlined and 4 chapters written out. I will post once a week, but I would LOVE to get REVIEWS!**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home: **

"Oh, Aria." Ella cried, stepping further into the room. "He looks just like you when you were little." Ella smiled, inching towards her grandson.

"Don't touch him!" Aria quickly stepped between the two. Her instincts and defense to keep Luca safe kicked in on over drive.

"Please don't tell anyone." Aria closed her eyes, ashamed at being caught and afraid that she had just hurt case even worse. The last thing she needed was to be labeled a thief and be taken to jail. "I only took enough for a week." She gripped the handle of her bag tighter.

"Back home…" Aria started. "I had this best friend, her name was Alison." Aria paused, almost envisioning her sitting at a nearby table as she stared off. "She always said that friends share their secrets. That's what kept us close." She took a deep breath. "Can I tell you a secret?" Aria asked, looking deep into Janette's eyes.

"But what you also need to remember is that you maybe Aria's mother, but Aria is a mother too now." Janette stared Ella down, hoping she got the picture.

**PLEASE REVIEW & I WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**


	2. Tell Them All The Truth Of Many Lies

**A/N: Wow! I am just overwhelmed by all the support I'm getting for this story. I mean…23 reviews in the first chapter alone. I NEVER would have thought I would receive that many, but I am so thankful. Thank you to my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya for all your help. Thank you everyone who continues to READ, REVIEW, FOLLLOW, AND FAVORITE this story. The wait is over, here is chapter 2. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

******I also have a Twitter account where you can leave me reviews atHeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or any other show that may come across in this story. I only own the characters in which I create.**

**Finding Home**

**Chapter Two: Tell Them All The Truth Of Many Lies **

❡I'm coming home❡

To breathe again,

To start again

I'm coming home

From all the places

I have been

With nothing

But a voice within

That calls me…

❡Calls me home❡

{Calls Me Home by Shannon Labrie}

It was roughly seven-thirty in the morning and already Janette was on her third cup of coffee. Although it was weak in taste, the caffeine and hot liquid gave her the motivation she needed to be on her feet. She had just left Luca's room a few moments ago where Aria sat next to the little boy's side eating scrambled eggs and sausage out of the a plastic container she recognized from the cafeteria downstairs. The food really wasn't the best, but Aria quickly drank it down like the burger yesterday. Claiming it was better than the food at the shelter, which Janette believed was true.

Luca appeared to be doing better this morning, something Janette hoped meant a good day ahead of them. He still had a long way to, but for now he was at least feeling up to some cartoons and Cheerios.

Standing by the front entrance to the clinic, Janette squeezed her empty Styrofoam cup in her hand as she waited for Aria's mom to arrive. Although she had yet to meet her, she sounded sincere on the phone. Janette still hadn't told Aria about calling her mom; and gave Dr. Truman a warning look not to mention it to her Aria. Truly she didn't know why she didn't say it when she saw the girl earlier, it just wouldn't come out when she gathered the courage.

The double doors squeaked open, drawing Janette's attention back to the present as she surveyed the woman before her. She looked slightly frazzled as she fixed her windblown hair and looked around her. Janette's eyes met hers' and instantly she knew this was Aria's mother. The same hazel eyes and bone structure, although her mom was taller.

Tossing her coffee cup in the trash along the way, Janette rubbed her hands on her white coat before approaching the woman.

"Are you Mrs. Montgomery, by any chance?" She asked, giving her a warm smile.

"Yes." The woman rang her hands together before glancing around, obviously looking for her daughter. "Is Aria okay?" She worriedly asked.

"She's fine." Janette reassured her again. "I'm Janette Stevenson, we spoke on the phone." Janette clarified, stretching a hand out towards the woman.

"Ella, nice to meet you." She shook her hand vigorously.

"Ella." Janette nodded. "Um…Aria is just down the hall with her son Luca." Janette explained to Ella who was once again looking over her shoulder to see if she could spot her daughter.

At hearing those words, Ella's head snapped back to Janette, realizing just how close she truly was to her daughter. It had been so long since she had last seen her, and so much had changed in such a short period of time. She knew the reason why Aria had left, but everything was just now starting to feel real.

Noticing the shocked expression, Janette wanted to get everything out in the open before bringing mother and daughter face to face.

"Would you like to take a seat?" Janette motioned towards the seats against the navy waiting room wall. Ella tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned in the direction of the cushioned chairs and took a seat.

Plopping down beside Ella, Janette was able to see the resemblance even more striking to her young daughters. Their hair was the same chocolate brown, but Ella's was pin-straight and their nervous habit of pulling on the end of their shirtsleeves was present at the moment. Her clothes were upper middle class, not too fancy but nothing like Aria's street clothes. She wore a long dark brown sweater over an olive green shirt and dark blue skinny jeans matched with tall brown boots.

Ella took a deep breath before smiling and turned towards Janette, "Thank you for calling me." She acknowledged.

"I'm happy I was able to reach you." Janette stated softly.

Like Aria, Janette could see the way Ella put up a front, but under her strong exterior, she saw something deep in the woman's eyes.

Ella felt guilty for the way she let her daughter run off, she felt like she was being judged for the lack of support and couldn't even begin to think about what Aria had gone through these past few years.

"Aria was always a free spirit, that's how her father and I raised her, but she is still a child." Ella remarked.

Janette could hear the subtle unease in Ella's voice, she realized how hard this must be to want the best for your child and then to see it all fall apart.

"Yes, well…" Janette cleared her throat and moved to the edge of her seat. "The point is that Luc is a very sick little boy, and he needs a proper home. Aria needs to be in school, she can't keep living like this." Janette got straight to the point.

"She does, I agree." Ella swallowed the nerves that were once again bubbling up her stomach. She stared down at her hands, rubbing the faded, yet visible paint.

It's just now hitting her, the fact that Aria would be coming home with her. That she would be seeing Aria in just a matter of seconds, and yes, meeting her grandson for the first time.

Bracing herself for what's to come, Ella took a deep breath and glanced up at the kind nurse across from her. "Alright then, let's go tell her." She confirmed her decision by standing to her feet.

"Okay, let's go." Janette stood and led the way, happy and confident at the thought of reuniting this broken family.

Tossing her fork into the empty food container Aria walked to the trash bin inside Luca's room and threw it away. Turning around, Aria scratched her head trying to get the insistent itch to go away, but to no avail she finally gave up. Her hair was tangled and she was surprised everyone was even willing to stand next to her; she could smell the mustiness on her clothes. Aria realized she was going to need to go back to the shelter soon to grab some clothes and to take a shower, but she wasn't about to leave Luca.

For the first time in awhile Aria felt like she could breathe again, Luca was doing better, the food here was decent, and although the environment was more social-able than she was use to, no one was questioning her capability to raise her child.

Luca's laughter cut through the noise of the TV as something funny on the TV screen brought a smile to his lips. Excited, Luca shook his cereal box around in his hand making the Cheerios fly out, only to land on the white bed sheet.

"Is that funny?" Aria asked. Luca nodded his head before noticing the Cheerios on his bed. Picking a few of them up, he observed the round loops in his palm before placing them in his mouth. Crunching on the cereal, Aria smiled and walked over to his bedside where she smoothened down his curly hair and placed a gently kiss on the top of his head.

"Aria?" She heard her name, but the voice was one she thought she would never hear again. One she hadn't heard in over two years. With her hand still resting on Luca's head, she slowly spun around and saw her mother standing in the doorway.

"Mom?" Aria dropped her hand to her side, her eyes wide confused. Ella smiled, tears pooled in her eyes at seeing her daughter for the first time. Ella was overjoyed, yet her heart broke at the sight before her. Aria was so tiny and her clothes were dirty.

"What-What are you doing here?" Aria questioned, crossing her arms as she stared her mom down.

She should be happy to see her mom, but she was too angry. Remembering the night everything transpired, the harsh words that were spoke and the devastation of how everything fell apart.

Ella clearly hadn't heard her daughter; her eyes were trained on the little boy behind her sitting on the bed. His curly brown hair and chubby cheeks were so much like Aria's from when she was a child, but those eyes. Those dark blue orbs were his.

"Oh, Aria." Ella cried, stepping further into the room. "He looks just like you when you were little." Ella smiled, inching towards her grandson.

"Don't touch him!" Aria quickly stepped between the two. Her instincts and defence to keep Luca safe kicked in on over drive.

Ella stepped backwards, caught off guard by her daughter's reaction. She had never seen Aria react this way, but she figured she was just shocked.

"Who called you?" Aria raised her voice, turning towards Luc and pressed him close to her waist as he sat on the bed. She waited for an answer, but Ella just stood with her mouth hanging open before she turned to someone standing in the doorway.

Aria followed where her mother's eyes landed and saw Janette walking into the room, her hands stuffed into her coat pockets. Aria couldn't believe it. She clenched her jaw tight, she had trusted this woman, she opened up to her, and thought she was there to help. She knew it was a bad idea to come here, she knew they would try to take Luca from her.

"I'm sorry Aria, but-"

"Why did you call her?" Aria questioned, this time directed at Janette.

"She called me because you're going to come home with me. Both you and Luca." Ella explained. Aria turned towards her mom at the sound of her voice, but all she wanted to do was laugh at the thought.

"No." Aria gave a small chuckle. "Home is the last place I'm going with you." Aria spat. Ella tried again to step closer to her daughter, but Aria took a step back. "I'm not going home," She shook her head. "Not after the way you and dad kicked me out." Aria stated loud and clear.

Hearing the commotion from down the hall Dr. Truman swiftly walked to Luca's room as the scene unfolded around him. He wasn't too sure what was going on, but by the look and sound of it this must be Aria's mom. Staying silent, he watched as the woman tried to make Aria see reason.

"He and I are not together anymore." Ella wanted to calm the waters. She hoped this might ease Aria's decision, but she was stubborn.

"Well good for you." Aria remarked. "But it doesn't change the fact that you wanted to drive me to an abortion clinic, and I wouldn't do it, you told me I would have to give him up for adoption…" Aria choked, her breathing heavy and she desperately wanted to cry, but now was not the time.

"I never should-" Ella bowed her head, realizing how wrong that was. Turning towards Janette once again, Aria wanted her to understand why she wouldn't go home.

"I heard my parents talking that night in my room, they wanted to send me to boarding school and then when Luc was born they were going to make me give him up." Aria cried, she couldn't hold it in any longer. Janette took a shaky breath as the words of the young girl caught her ears. "So I ran away…" Aria finished.

"I'm sorry…" Ella pleaded with Aria. "But you need help." Ella's voice softened, she didn't want to see Aria hurting anymore. At the calmness of her mother voice, it only hurt Aria even more. For almost three years they had been doing everything on their own and she wasn't about to let her past ruin everything again.

Aria picked Luca up despite Janette trying to get her to put him down. She wanted his comfort and wanted to keep him safe. She wanted out of the room and so with her head buried into Luca's chest she pushed past everyone and walked out of the room.

"Luc and I are just fine on our own." Aria's voice echoed down the hallway.

Following close behind Aria, Janette pleaded with her to bring Luca back to the hospital room. Luca's screams soon began to fill the hallway, echoing even louder than Aria thought possible. Aria stopped in her footsteps as she bounced him in her arms trying to calm him down.

"Shh…shh… Please, it's okay." Aria patted him on the back. Spinning around to face the direction she had just walked away from, Janette was soon standing in front of her. "We're fine…we're fine…" Aria tried to convince Janette as she took a step back when Janette touched her shoulder to guide her back into the room.

"Let's just get him calmed down and then we can talk." Janette frantically wanted to help, hearing Luc's cries grow even louder.

"I don't want to be near her." Aria stated as she closing her eyes, swaying back and forth trying to get Luca to stop screaming in her ears.

She wanted to be anywhere but here.

Aria buried her face into Luca's curls as his hair clung to her wet face as tears of his own fell.

"Just please, bring Luc back into the room and we can talk." Janette begged. She motioned for Aria to go back towards the room.

Aria glanced in that direction, seeing her mother's back to her as she was being led in the opposite direction with Dr. Truman. Aria nodded, seeing she wasn't going to be near her mother and walked quickly back into Luca's room.

Luca's cries began to dissipate and turned into hiccups by the time they made it back into the room. Aria set Luca down onto the bed before turning away to wipe her eyes.

Janette watched Aria as she ran her hands through her tangled hair, trying to get it out of her eyes. She didn't dare say anything to Aria as she examined Luca, turning to the small boy as she heard the hiccups with each breath he took. She feared they were back at square one with the way his whole body seemed to bounce with the loud gas that erupted every few moments from his chest.

Aria's mind was all over the place, seeing her mom again, feeling hurt by Janette for calling her mom, and trying to figure-out a way to keep Luca.

The sound of a door closing caught Aria's ears and as she followed the noise and saw the words, 'Supplies Closet' and it all clicked.

Glancing at Janette, she knew she was too preoccupied with Luca and figured it was the perfect time. Angry and frightened at the thought of losing her son, Aria did the only thing she thought would help her cause.

Grabbing her orange backpack off the floor by the door, Aria easily slipped out of the room with no one noticing. Watching one of the other nurses on duty walk into a patient's room and close the door she found it was a synch to sneak inside the small closet without being seen. Aria's eyes adjusted quickly to the dark as she unzipped her backpack.

She didn't care what it was she took. If her hands touched it, she put it in her bag. Blankets, diaper, soap, Band-Aids, and pudding cups, she could use it all.

{EZRIA}

Luca's hiccups had almost completely faded and when Janette turned around and noticed Aria was gone and with her bag. Despite the fact that the light in the storage closet was off, she could hear the shuffling of someone inside and could only guess what Aria was doing.

Aria could barely close her bag as she made her exit, believing the coast was clear until she saw Janette with her arms folded over chest and a disapproving scowl upon her face.

"Please don't tell anyone." Aria closed her eyes, ashamed at being caught and afraid that she had just hurt case even worse. The last thing she needed was to be labeled a thief and be taken to jail. "I only took enough for a week." She gripped the handle of her bag tighter.

Janette knew she could say and do just about anything, but deep down she knew all Aria wanted to do was be a good mother.

"What about when the week is up?" Janette let her hands fall to her sides as Aria opened her eyes, surprised at the question rather than being scolded for her actions.

"I-I will pick up cans in the subway or work in the soup kitchen in the shelter." Aria let her bag slide down her shoulder to the floor.

"And the week after that?" Jeanette investigated. "How about in a month? What about next year? What are you going to do then?" She gave a little shrug to her shoulders as she watched the girl before her huff in frustration as the questions kept coming without letting her speak.

"I am doing the best I can!" Aria raised her voice, cutting Janette off. A few of the nurses walking down the hallway stopped to turn at the commotion, but quickly went on their way as Aria glared at them. Aria took a step towards Janette, determination in her eyes. "We have always made it and we will." Aria's voice grew calm yet serious.

She didn't need anyone's help; she and Luca had always been able to make it on their own and she wasn't about to let Janette or her mom stand between her and her life with Luca.

Growing tired of trying to explain herself to Janette and seeing how she wasn't going to stop her from taking the supplies. Aria swung her bag over her shoulder, turned around, and began to walk away.

Janette knew that calling Aria's mom had been a mistake, but she still believed it had been the right thing to do. Debating on whether to stop Aria again or to let her cool down she went with the first choice.

"Aria, wait please…" She called.

Frustrated, Aria stopped in her tracks and rolled her eyes as she spun around on her heels.

"Why? What for? So you can dig more into my past?" Janette took a step towards Aria thankful she didn't back away, but was struck by the coldness of her words. "She is going to make me give him up if I go home with her." Aria explained.

"I'm sorry if it feels like I betrayed you," Janette sorrowfully spoke. "No one wants to take Luc away from you." Janette shook her head.

Aria's eyes once again drifted to where her mother was and uncomfortably Aria shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"She's going to make me pretend like he never happened." Aria bit the inside of her cheek, suppressing the urge to cry again.

"That's not going to happen, you're his mother." Janette stated calm, but firmly. "She understands that, what she also understands is that Luc needs a healthy environment, and so do you." At hearing this Aria turned back to Janette seeing the sincerity in her eyes, but Aria's fears were still there.

"Nothing would be the same." Aria tried to grasped for the right words to say. "I-I can't be seen in that town." Aria tugged on her shirtsleeve with her opposite hand, oblivious to the habit but Janette noticed. She could see in Aria's hazel eyes that there was more to her story and yet Aria appeared to hold onto it for dear life.

"I may not understand the whole situation…" She took the chance and rested a friendly hand upon Aria's shoulder. "But like I said, Luc needs a stable home." She looked deep into Aria's eyes.

Exhausted and knowing that what Janette said was true Aria bowed her head and agreed.

"Now, why don't we go check on Luc and then go get some coffee downstairs?" Janette squeezed her shoulder. "You like coffee?" She verified. Aria gave a small chuckle, a grin forming under her dark curls as she nodded making their way back to Luc's room.

{EZRIA}

With a cup of steaming hot coffee in their hands Janette and Aria made their way to one of the clean tables in the cafeteria. Aria could smell the greasy food being cooked and wrinkled her nose like a bunny at the smell.

Janette gave a small laugh at the gesture as she pulled her chair out from under the table, the legs squeaking on the title floor. Still, no one spoke as they sat across from each other and sipped their coffee. The time between their argument in the hallway, going to check on Luc, and grabbing their coffee had allowed Aria time to cool off and now with a level head she realized how hard she was on Janette.

"I'm sorry if I sounded harsh back there…" Aria looked down into her cup. "It's just hard to know what to do sometimes." Aria confessed. She knew what she had done was wrong, stealing was never the answer, but if it meant keeping Luc she would do whatever it took.

"No, I get it…" Janette shook her head. Aria looked up. Had she really just heard her correctly? "All you want is to keep your son." Janette explained, understanding clearly the reason behind the fiasco with the storage closet.

"He's all I've had for so long…" Aria chewed her lip, pondering how she had allowed everything to get this bad. She could ask that question again and again, but it would always come back to the same conclusion. If she had only taken better care of him, of herself none of this would have happened.

She took a deep breath and a realization suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Did I do this?" Aria asked, tears brimming her eyes. Janette was confused by her abrupt question. "Did I make him sick?" Aria's voice quivered.

"No…absolutely not." Janette placed her hands on top of the table. "None of this is your fault." She confirmed, but still Aria looked down not believing her.

"But maybe if I had taken better care of myself when I was-"

"Luc was born with this and whether you were living with your parents or out on the streets he would still be the same." Janette clarified. There really was no chance of knowing whether or not that was true, but to make Aria feel better she said it.

Aria sniffled as she squared her shoulders trying to make herself believe that what Janette was saying was the truth. She felt like she could trust her again, and with that confidence she wondered if she could confide in her again.

Aria's mind went back to her four best friends back home, particularly a snarky blonde with blue eyes, Alison. She always said that friends share their secrets and that's what kept them close. Could she trust Janette again? Especially after what Janette had done by calling her mom.

She didn't care anymore… She needed to tell someone. Sure she delved into her past to her street friends, but even they didn't know the whole story.

"Back home…" Aria started. "I had this best friend, her name was Alison." Aria paused, almost envisioning her sitting at a nearby table as she stared off. "She always said that friends share their secrets. That's what kept us close." She took a deep breath. "Can I tell you a secret?" Aria asked, looking deep into Janette's eyes.

"Sure..." Janette smiled. She could see the longing in her eyes and knew this was the secret she had been holding onto so tightly.

"You can't tell anyone, if this got out…" Aria couldn't even finish her sentence, as she suddenly grew very serious.

"You have my word…" Janette could tell how hard this was for Aria and waited patiently as she gathered her thoughts.

"I-I never even told Luc's father…" Aria stuttered. It wasn't how she wanted to say it, but she didn't really know what to say let alone how to say it.

"Oh…" Was all Janette could think to say. To be honest, it wasn't what she expected to hear. "Let me guess…" Janette smiled. "He was your high school sweetheart?" She took a sip of her coffee. Aria blushed and gave a small laugh. If only that was the truth.

"You could say that…" Aria rolled her eyes in amusement. "But he wasn't in high school... Well he was but…" Aria licked her lips as they suddenly went dry. "He was my teacher." There, she said it.

Janette stared at Aria, unable to speak as she processed the words that came out of the eighteen year olds mouth. The words ran over and over in her head as she tried to grasp the reality of them. Never would she have thought that was the truth behind it all.

"I loved him." Aria declared. "He loved me too." Aria smiled. She glanced at Janette who continued to just stare at her. "I met him before school started and we had no idea. I knew he was the one from the moment I laid eyes on him… We just met at the wrong time in our lives, but I don't regret it." Aria admitted.

"Wow um…" Janette swallowed. "I just never…expected this…" She gaped for words. "It sounds like you loved each other but-" She took a deep breath as her eyes went wide.

"I never should have told you… You promise you won't tell…" Aria grew concerned.

"No…I won't it's just…" Janette restated. "To be honest I never really thought about that sort of relationship, but the way you talk about him… I believe you. It's not realistic but…"

"He used to say that sometimes…" Aria thought. "Sometimes love isn't romantic…sometimes it realistic and other times its just love…" Aria quoted.

"Yeah… sometimes love is just love." Janette liked that.

Aria was relieved that for once someone was on her side about her relationship. It hadn't always looked right, but it had always felt right.

She smiled and sipped her coffee as she thought about Ezra. Thought about what it would be like to see him again after all this time. But she realized that it could never be, not in a town like Rosewood.

"Now you know why I'm afraid to go home…" Aria huffed out a deep breath. "Because if people were to find out about Luc," she paused. "If people were to find out about who Luc's father is…it would ruin everything." Aria tugged on her sleeves as she placed her hands on the table.

"Aria," Janette emphasized her name as she placed her hands on top of Aria's. "Facing your fears is a big part of growing up." She looked at the young girl before her. "You're eighteen, and already you've been through so much." She squeezed Aria's hands. "But a part of growing up is admitting to the people around you that you're drowning." Janette grew serious.

Aria looked down, taking in the words Janette was saying. If only it were that simple she thought.

"How do I do that?" She asked, looking back up at the nurse. "Admit to the people around me that I'm drowning?" She took a deep breath, afraid of the answer.

"Go home with your mother." Janette said, hoping this wouldn't be world war three all over again. Thankfully Aria just sat still, allowing her to continue. "You will have a whole support team there for you. Your mom, brother, your friends, they will all be there to help make things easier." Janette explained and watched as Aria bit her lip and looked off at another table.

"A few weeks ago…" Aria's voice grew quite. "I went to the drugstore to buy some cough medicine for Luc and he saw a bag of cheese puffs." Aria swallowed, smiling weakly at the innocents of Luca. "But I couldn't even buy them because I needed the money for bus fare." Aria shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"What mother can't buy her kid cheese puffs?" Aria's eyes pooled with tears. "I only want what's best for Luc… I love him so much." She stated as a tear fell down her cheek.

"I know you do…" Janette's eyes mirrored Aria's as she nodded her head. "I know you do…" She repeated, as she smiled weakly. She took a deep breath trying to gather herself. "Let's go try to sort everything out…" She said in-which Aria gave a smile and nodded as she finished her coffee as they stood to their feet.

The bell above their heads signalled another stop just as they felt the ground beneath them jolt. The door slid open and Aria stepped off the elevator first, Janette following behind. They kept to a steady pace as they walked towards Luca's room. Janette's mind began to replay their conversation over again.

She knew Aria had a past, one with secrets but never would she have thought it would involve a forbidden relationship. Still, she couldn't judge, she reminded herself that, no matter what, her job was to support people and make them feel better.

Watching Aria with Luc and hearing her talk about her lover made the young girl happy so despite the odd circumstances she had to agree with Aria's decisions.

Aria's eyes skimmed over the names of patients on the doors as they walked down the hallway. Counting her footsteps as she moved it helped to keep her nerves as bay.

Thirty-six.

Thirty-seven.

She spotted Luca's room a few steps away but the view down the hall made Aria stop.

Ella paced the length of the hallway unaware of her daughter's eyes as she held her cell phone to her ear. The noises surrounding Aria made the conversation muffled, but she knew the look on her mother's face and it meant business. Swallowing back the rush of emotions, she continued to stare until Janette's hand touched her shoulder.

"Why's don't you go sit with Luc and I will be in shortly." She advised Aria, who only nodded before walking into the little boy's room.

Ella's feet finally came to a halt as she snapped her phone shut and glanced towards her grandson's door seeing Janette standing close by. After speaking to Doctor Truman earlier and giving Aria a chance to cool down, she knew that setting up arrangements for going home was the next step.

Taking a deep breath, Ella let it out as she made her way towards the young nurse who stood watching her draw near. Janette tried to look away like she hadn't been staring but she was pretty sure she had been caught.

"So I just got off the phone with my son Mike. I figured it would be best to tell him now rather than it be a shock once we get home." Ella smiled, as she tossed her phone into her handbag. "I just can't believe it," Ella sighed. "She just had to go and run away." Ella shook her head. "Her father and I were only trying to do what we thought was best; Rosewood is a very small town." Janette nodded, listening intently. "I don't agree with everything my ex-husband did, I even tried searching for Aria, but we just pushed her away." Ella huffed out closing the zipper on her bag.

"Did you tell Aria that?" Janette questioned. Ella's head flew up and stared at Janette, her mouth hanging open.

"No." Ella quickly responded. "It won't change the past." She added.

"But it might change the future." Janette tilted her head. "Remembering what the past taught you might bring Aria closer." She suggested.

Ella glanced into the room and saw her daughter leaning over Luca's bed. Janette could see the tears brimming the young woman's eyes as she continued.

"Trust me, Aria can handle it, she has come so far in the past few years, she isn't a kid anymore." Janette spoke softly.

"But she is a kid." Ella turned back to Janette, wiping her eyes. "She's a teenager…" Ella emphasized. "She's only eighteen, which is why I'm going to have legal guardianship over Luca." Ella spoke with determination in her voice.

Janette furrowed her eyes Ella; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew she wanted to help, but maybe this was going too far.

"Do you really think that is a good idea?" Janette argued. She didn't give Ella a chance to say anything before saying more. "Why put Aria through that? Why subject Luca to so much confusion?" Janette shrugged her shoulders.

Ella bit her bottom lip, turning back towards Luc's room as Janette did the same.

"Did Aria tell you who Luca's father is?" Ella asked, her voice very low.

"Um…" Janette closed her mouth. She had promised Aria she wouldn't tell, but she couldn't say no. "Yes," She sucked in a deep breath. "But I told her it's completely confidential." She added.

Ella remained quiet for a few seconds as her eyes scanned over Aria as she sat on the edge of Luc's bed, rubbing his back gently.

"My classroom…" Ella began. "Is directly across from his." Ella bit her tongue as she looked down at her hands. "For months he came over to our house for mixers and parent teacher conferences and not once did her he mentions he was seeing my daughter." Ella's voice grew icy.

"Well…" Janette sighed. "From what I hear it sounded like they really loved each other." Janette said.

"Like I was really going to give my sixteen-year-old daughter and her English teacher my blessing." Ella scoffed and rolled her eyes as she looked back up at Janette.

Janette could hear the sarcasm in Ella's voice and even the hurt that was still painfully evident from within the past few years. She knew the situation wasn't ideal, but Luca had been born out of love and if Aria's parents had truly raised her to be her then it was her decision.

"Didn't you tell me earlier that you raised your daughter to be strong willed and independent?" Janette interrogated.

"Well yes, but-"

"She is only giving that little boy the best life she can." Janette cut her off.

"What she needs is her mother." Ella's voice rose. "Someone to care for her and make sure she goes to school, not to mess around with her teacher." Ella shook her head. "She shouldn't be living on the streets with a sick baby." Pointing towards Luca's room as she spat her words.

"You're right." Janette nodded. "She does need to be in school and with Luca sick he does need a roof over his head." Janette agreed. "But what you also need to remember is that you maybe Aria's mother, but Aria is a mother too now." Janette stared Ella down, hoping she got the picture.

Ella swallowed and clamped her mouth shut as Janette's words rattled around in her mind.

"Luca is her son." Janette stated calm and quietly. Ella nodded and once again looked inside Luca's room, a smile growing on her face as she hears the interaction between mother and son.

"You doing okay buddy?" Aria asked, even though she knew he wouldn't really answer. "The doctors are going to make you all better." Aria kisses the top of his head before rubbing his back.

"Mommy look…" Luca shouted, holding up his teddy bear for her to see.

"I see… Is that Peter?" Aria whispered, examining the teddy before giving it back to Luca. He squeezes the bear tightly before nodding.

Aria took a deep breath and tilted her head onto Luca's shoulder and out of the corner of her eye she spotted her mom watching, a smile on her face. Aria's heart began to swell; deep down she missed her mom and wanted her to be a part of her life again. She wanted everything back to the way it was.

"Mom?" Aria called, scooting off the bed and walking to the door. "Would you like to meet your grandson?" She asked.

"Yes." Ella nodded, tears in her eyes. "I would really like that." She stepped inside.

The pair walked to Luca's bed where he continued to watch his TV show, only breaking away when Aria took his hand and he turned his attention towards her.

"Luca, this is your grandma. Mom this is Luca, but we call him Luc." Aria smiled, rubbing gentle circles over his hand. She figured he wouldn't say anything. He was shy until he got to know you and as usual he clung to his teddy. "He doesn't talk a lot, but he is really smart." Aria turned to Ella who smiled.

"He takes after you." Ella slowly wrapped her arm around her daughter's thin waist, happy when she didn't pull away. "You were really shy until you got to know people." Ella explained, relishing in this moment together.

Aria took another deep breath, this felt right. She loved having this time with her mom and was actually looking forward to sharing Lucas life with her mom. Maybe this could work, she thought.

"Mom," Aria paused, looking her at her mom. "Luc, is really sick and-" Aria bit her bottom lip. This wasn't easy for her. "And the last thing I want is for him to get worse." Aria took another deep breath. "I know you don't agree with how I live my life, but I'm not giving him up." Aria shook her head. "But if you are willing to have us," Aria patted Luca's head. "I would like to come home." Aria exhaled, waiting for her mom to reply.

Ella wanted nothing more, but she knew this would be a challenge.

"You know it's going to be hard." Ella explained. "Rosewood is a small town, and a lot has changed." Aria nodded. "You're going to have to start school again and there will be talk about you and Luca around town." Ella explained further all in which Aria knew was true. "But I would love to have you come home. Mike misses you too." Ella smiled.

"Thank you, mom." Aria's smile mirrored her mothers and as she spoke she hugged her mom in a tight embrace.

{EZRIA}

Dressed in a new winter coat and her orange backpack on her back, Aria held Luca in her arms by the clinic's front entrance. After Ella made a few more arrangements Dr. Truman gave the okay for Luca to go home, provided that he see a doctor in Rosewood soon. Janette and Dr. Truman stood beside Aria as Ella walked through the front door, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she walked inside from warming up the car.

"The new car-seat is strapped in and the stroller is in the trunk so I guess whenever you're ready." Ella gestured towards Aria.

Aria took a deep breath, nervous, yet excited at the same time. She nodded towards her mom before turning towards Dr. Truman and Janette.

"Thank you, so much for all your help. I will always be grateful, that you were there that day. I don't know what I would have done." Aria said, giving them a group hug.

Dr. Truman gave a smile before composting himself as the doctoral persona kicked in again.

"For now, I would say it would be best to take him home and let him rest. If he's feeling up to it tomorrow you can take him for a walk, but nothing too strenuous." He advised.

"But the medicine you gave him fixed the problem, right?" Aria verified.

"Everything is stable, but Aria he is still a very sick little boy." Dr. Truman ruffled Luca's hair. "Luc has what is known as Cystic Fibrosis, or CF. The problem is, he is very small and his lungs are susceptible to viruses easily." He sighed, wishing Luca could go home as a healthy little boy. "He needs surgery, but it can't be done until he's older." He knew the odds were now in their favour, but you could never tell.

"Is he going to be able to wait?" Aria's voice grew concerned.

"As long as he stays in a healthy environment." Dr. Truman restated.

"He will…" Ella clarified, putting a comforting hand upon her daughter's shoulder.

"Still, you have to keep an eye on him. Make sure he goes to the doctors within the coming week." Janette said.

"I'm not going to let him out of my sight." Aria looked down at Luc, who busied himself with the zipper on Aria's coat.

"I don't want you this to be a constant worry for you, Luc doesn't even realize anything is wrong, it's not hurt him." Dr. Truman stated. "He will have coughing fits, but if you give him the medicine we gave you he will be good. If it gets really bad, believe me, he will let you know." Dr. Truman explained.

"He is a strong little boy," She smiled, taking one of Luca's hands in her own. She had grown fond of the little boy who now gave her a smile. "He's a fighter, like his mom." She turned to Aria who leaned into her for another hug. "Everything will be fine, just take him home." Janette whispered into Aria's ear.

"Thank you, for everything." She whispered back.

{EZRIA}

Stars lit up the night sky by the time the three made it back into Rosewood. From what Aria could make outside her window nothing had changed on the exterior. They were soon pulling into the driveway of their small brown house; the one Aria never thought she would see again.

The porch light was on and the path leading up to the doorway had been shovelled but other than that there was no sign of life. As Ella killed the engine, Aria turned to look into the backseat where Luca had fallen asleep shortly after their trip.

She smiled as she unbuckled her seat and unlocked her car door. She swung her backpack over her shoulder before opening the back door and bending down to Luca. Ella went to the front door and unlocked the deadbolt as Aria unbuckled Luca from his seat, thankful that he didn't stir.

Walking up the creaking steps and into the main foyer, Aria's heart began to beat rapidly. She was home.

"Well, it looks like your brother already asleep for the night." Ella closed the door behind Aria. "Are you hungry?" She asked, Aria.

"No," Aria shook her head. "No thank you." She whispered. "I would just like to get some rest. I think Luc could use some too." She added. Ella nodded, slightly nervous as she looked around the downstairs portion of the house.

"Your room is not exactly baby proof but-"

"If it's okay, I think I will just setup a little bed in the living room for Luc and I can sleep on the couch?" Aria motioned towards the room to her right.

"Yes, that's fine." Ella agreed, turning on the lamp in the living room. "I will just grab some blankets from the closet." She walks up the stairs.

Having a moment to herself, Aria shifted Luc in her arms as she walks further into the house. The kitchen was still as spick-in-span as always and the living room hasn't changed expect for the photos of her parents were taken off the mantel of the fireplace.

Setting Luca on the couch, she proceeded to remove her backpack off her shoulder and sets in on the floor beside the end table. Taking off her winter coat, as well as Luca's she sets them on the back of the single chair.

Aria heard the creaking of the stairs and shuffling of her mother's feet as she turned and saw blankets and pillows in her arms. Placing the pile on the floor, Ella rang her hands together.

"Would you like some help?" She asks.

"I can take it from here. Thank you." Aria bent down as she unfolded one of the blankets.

"I will see you in the morning then." Ella took a step back, smiling.

Aria nodded and smiled as she went back to making the bed.

"Aria," Ella stopped at the foot of the stairs, her face in the shadows as Aria looks up. "I'm so happy your home." She whispers.

"It's good to be home." Aria acknowledged back.

The two once again smile before Ella headed up the stairs and Aria finished making the bed. Placing Luca down onto the soft sheets, she tucked the blankets around his tiny body and made sure his teddy bear is close by before she unfolded the last blanket and drapes it over herself.

She snuggled deeper into the cushions and closed her eyes.

She was finally home.

**And there is chapter 2! I will be posting chapter 3 sometime next week. I hope you all return to find out what happens next. PLEASE continue to REVIEW they help me know what your thoughts and ideas are about the story. If you leave me a review with your ****screen name whether your signed in or not I will be more than happy to reply. :)**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home:**

"Yeah, it's just going to take some getting used to. Being here, that is." She sighed, plopping back down on the stool with Luca on her lap.

{PLL}

"I'm so sorry Aria," Ella stated, but Aria didn't say a word, didn't even look up at her mom. "I was going to tell you when-" Ella spoke, her mouth hanging open as Aria swallowed her tears and tore her eyes away from the paper.

{PLL)

"I just want to make sure this town doesn't make you want to leave again." Ella's voice broke, her eyes closing as she hugged Aria tightly.

{PLL}

"Aria?" A familiar voice resonated against the music echoing about. Spinning around in the direction the voice had come from; she spotted a lengthy dark haired girl with olive skin behind the counter.

{PLL}

"And it's a gift, Aria." Ella cut her off. Aria closed her mouth and swallowed her pride, as she looked at the bag again.

{PLL}

"Can you tell me about it?" Mike felt awkward asking such a question, but he had to know. Aria looked down at her crisscrossed legs and swallowed. "I'm sorry, that wasn't right of me to ask…" He paused. "No…it's okay." Aria shook her head. Aria licked her lips as she thought carefully about what she wanted to reveal. Something's she'd rather leave unspoken, but for some of the items scattered upon her bed, she was willing to speak about them.

_**PLEASE REVIEW & I WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**_


	3. In A Past Life

**A/N: Oh Boy! 14 Reviews for chapter 2 made my crummy week so delightful. ****Thank you to my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya for all your help. Thank you everyone who continues to READ, REVIEW, FOLLLOW, AND FAVORITE this story. The wait is over, here is chapter 3. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

******I also have a Twitter account where you can leave me reviews atHeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or any other show that may come across in this story. I only own the characters in which I create.**

**Finding Home**

**Chapter 3: In A Past Life**

❡Waking up I see that everything is OK❡

The first time in my life and now it's so great

Slowing down I look around and I am so amazed

I think about the little things that make life great

I wouldn't change a thing about it

This is the best feeling

This innocence is brilliant

I hope that it will stay

This moment is perfect

Please don't go away

I need you now

And I'll hold on to it

Don't you let it pass you by

I found a place so safe, not a single tear

The first time in my life and now it's so clear

Feel calm, I belong, I'm so happy here

It's so strong and now I let myself be sincere

I wouldn't change a thing about it

❡This is the best feeling❡

{Innocence by Avril Lavigne}

It took Aria a few minutes to gather her surroundings as she lifted her head off her pillow. The clock on the side table read Sunday morning and she could smell the aroma of coffee brewing in the kitchen across the room. Beside the couch, Aria could see Luc sleeping soundly the blankets pushed off of him. Bending down she pulled the blankets back over his tiny form before walking into the kitchen fixing her long hair.

Walking into the kitchen she saw her mom putting a few pancakes on a tall stack.

"Good morning." She greeted with a smile. Aria yawned before smiling and pulled the stool out from under the island. "I made your favorite," She placed a plate in front of Aria. "Blueberry pancakes with vegan bacon and fresh brewed coffee." Turning to the pot she poured Aria a steaming cup and placed it next to her. "It still is your favorite, right?" Ella paused, realizing her tastes may have changed.

"Yes." Aria clarified quickly, taking a bite of her bacon. "Thank you." Aria mumbled, realizing her bad manners she chewed swallowed then continued. "But you didn't have to do all of this, really."

"No, it was no problem." Ella shrugged, smiling. "You need some meat on those bones your too skinny." Aria gave a nervous laugh before shifting in her seat.

"Well this looks really good." Aria picked up her fork and cut into her pancake. She had just taken a bite as a small cry came from the other room.

"Momma…" Aria turned around and Ella glanced in Luca's direction. He was sitting up on the blankets with his dark curls sticking up.

"Luc, I'm here." Aria jumped down from her stool and rushed to him, picking him up he calmed in her arms but still clung to her.

"Is he okay?" Ella asked, concerned as the two re-entered the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's just going to take some getting used to. Being here, that is." She sighed, plopping back down on the stool with Luca on her lap. "Do you want a pancake?" She asked the red face boy, smoothening down his hair.

"Pancake, momma!" Luca smiled, taking the round floppy pancake off of Aria's plate and taking a bite. Aria gave a small laugh before kissing the top of his head.

Wiping her hands on a dishtowel Ella reached for Luca.

"I can take him for you while you eat?" She offered.

"Oh no, its fine." Aria waved her mom off, picking up her fork. "I've had to practice multitasking with Luca here." Aria squeezed him gently.

The front door opened, leaving Ella without a chance to say something as Mike swung open the door.

"I got the paper!" He shouted, closing the door. Turning, he spotted Aria with Luca still seated on her lap, and he was frozen in place as their eyes met.

Aria slowly chewed the food in her mouth, swallowing it before getting up from her stool. Mike moved too, as the siblings met halfway and enveloped each other in a hug. They had always been close and the past few years hadn't changed that. Pulling away, Mike smiled and Aria had tears in her eyes,

"I missed you." She tried hard to keep the tears in.

"Me too." Mike agreed, looking from Aria down to Luc, trying not to stare.

"Oh um… Mike this is Luca, but I call him Luc. Luc, this is your Uncle Mike." She introduced. Usually Luca would bury his head into Aria's shoulder, but surprisingly he took a liking to Mike.

"Luc, hi." Mike bent down to be eye level with the little boy. "I'm so happy to meet you. Thanks for bringing your mommy home." He smiled, glancing up at Aria who blushed.

Boy, did she miss her brother.

Not wanting to ruin the moment, but figuring Mike was hungry, Ella called him to the table.

"Mike, why don't you take a seat and eat before it gets cold?" She suggested, as Mike took the second stool and pulled it out from under the island.

"Good, I'm hungry." He placed the paper on the granite counter top; not even realizing what was on the cover. Aria's eyes went wide with confusion and Ella noticed.

"I'm so sorry Aria," Ella stated, but Aria didn't say a word, didn't even look up at her mom. "I was going to tell you when-" Ella spoke, her mouth hanging open as Aria swallowed her tears and tore her eyes away from the paper.

"Ali…she's missing?" Aria whispered confused. She looked up at her mom for answers, but Ella just sighed. "What are they talking about?" She reiterates, tilting her head so she could see her mom's face, which was bent down.

Still not getting any answers, Aria picked up the paper and began to skim the article for details. Watching her daughter read into the lies of the town, Ella snatched the paper from her grasp.

"She just disappeared; these stories are all just speculation." Ella crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the trash. She didn't want her daughter hurt with questions she didn't have answers to.

From what Aria had read before the paper was taken from her there had been something about a sleepover with her friends, or something like that.

"It said something about my friends, Mom. What happened after I left?" Aria pressed again, but Ella remained silent.

"After you left everyone thought you were involved." Mike said, in-between bites of pancake.

Aria's head swung towards her younger brother as he spoke. Ella's steely look immediately made him clam-up and Aria still hadn't gotten anymore closer to the truth; she was even more confused now.

"What he means is that when Ali left town everyone thought she was with you, but your Father set them straight." Ella clarified, but it didn't answer everything, she figured she would just have to find out more on her own later.

"So umm…" Aria looked down at her food, swallowing the nervous lump that was forming in her throat. "Where, exactly have I been all this time?" Aria examined. Ella was caught off guard by the sudden question and took a minute to think of what to say. "I mean, I had to have been somewhere. Was I at grandmas or living at a boarding school?" Aria questioned further.

Ella wasn't proud of this, but she had convinced herself a long time ago that it was best to make something up. She never wanted to believe that what truly happened to her daughter had been the truth and she forced herself to put on a smile with the words she had said so many times before.

That everything was fine and that she hadn't truly run away.

"We said that you received a scholarship to a school back in Iceland and that you wanted to study abroad for a few years." Ella explained, adding more coffee to her daughter's mug.

"Well, at least I have a story to go off of…" Ella winced at her daughter's sarcastic tone. "All I have to do is include a baby into the equation." At this no one said a word.

Realizing it might have been a little too soon for jokes, Aria cleared her throat and spoke up again.

"It's fine," she shrugged. "Let's just start over with a fresh start. It's all in the past." Aria sighed, pushing her plate away. "I'm going to take Luc out for a walk, get some fresh air. Maybe stop by Wright's Playground." She hopped off her stool, adjusting Luc on her hip.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Ella pondered. "I mean, taking him out so soon after getting out of the hospital?" She further questioned.

Aria didn't want to think her mom was trying to keep her hidden, but the question popped into her head anyways. The genuine look of concern on her mom's face on the other hand, led her to believe she was worried.

"I think it will be okay." Aria rubbed Luca's back. "Dr. Truman did say that if he was feeling better we could, and Janette mentioned for him to get back on a schedule. He loves the swings and we went to the park every Sunday." Aria detailed.

"Okay." Ella nodded, bringing her coffee mug to her lips. "Well, Mike and I can watch him for you while you take a shower and get dressed." She offered, tilting her cup towards Mike.

Apprehensive at the thought of leaving him with Mike and their mom she immediately shook the emotions from her mind, this was family.

"Oh, okay. You really don't mind?" Aria turned to Mike.

"No, this will give me the chance to spend time with the little guy." Mike reached for Luc. With a little resistance Luc went to Mike. "Hey there little man." Mike smiled at Luc who wasn't quite sure, but at least he wasn't crying, Aria thought.

Arias finally managed to move her legs towards the stairs, turning back to Luca who was now smiling. It felt strange to not have to be so close to him, they had been glued together since the moment he was born.

{EZRIA}

Aria slowly sat on her childhood bed, the place where she spent countless sleepovers with her friends and opened up new worlds by reading every night. The comforter was soft; the pillows smelt clean, even the mattress felt the same, and of course her feet still couldn't reach the hardwood floor.

Everything felt the same, but deep down the pictures on her dresser and the book Ezra had bought her was from another life. She didn't belong in here, the room was meant for another Aria. One who hadn't spent the past few years living in an out of shelters and flats where kids did things she knew would never escape her memory. This wasn't her room anymore.

A knock sounded at the door as Aria's head rose to meet the door slowly being cracked open. "Are you decent?" Ella asked, making sure before opening it wider.

"Yeah. Yes." Aria jumped off the bed. "Is Luc okay?" Aria questioned, as she went to her closet door and shrugged on a navy blue sweater over her cream long sleeve shirt.

"Luc's fine. Mike loves his new role as uncle." Ella smiled, leaning against the doorframe.

"That's great." Aria returned the smile. "Now if I could only find some clothes that could actually fit me." Aria raised her arms, noticing the significant amount of material dangling around her midsection. "I'm swimming in everything I left here…" Aria gave a small chuckle.

"I told you, your too skinny." Ella walked across her daughter's bedroom; happy Aria was finally in here with her. Ella sifted through the hangers until she found a cream colored belt and handed it to her daughter. "I think it would be a good idea to setup a doctor's appointment for you and Luc." Ella suggested.

"I'm fine, but I think Luc should go very soon." Aria kept her eyes lowered as she wrapped the belt around her waist and buckled it into place. Ella watched Aria tentatively, knowing there was something going on, but figured she was reading too much into things.

"Mommy…" Aria heard her son's laughter as he spotted her across the hallway where Mike was tickling his tummy.

"That's my cue." Aria gave a small smile, before looking at her mom who returned the smile.

No matter how much Ella tried to deny it, she still felt like something strange was going on with Aria. She only wanted to protect her and Rosewood was a town where secrets were always discovered.

"Aria," Ella called to her. Aria's brown hair flipped over shoulder as she turned to her mom. "Just remember this is Rosewood and-"

"Yes, and I've lived here for most of my life." Aria tried convincing her mom. She wasn't a little girl anymore.

"Rumors spread quickly." Ella stated, moving closer to Aria, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know…" Aria agreed. "But I'm strong, believe me when you've lived on the streets with a baby you get use to the stares and whispers." Aria rolled her eyes.

Ella's hand fell from Aria's shoulder and Aria could see the emotions running across her mother's face.

"I'm sorry…" Aria stepped back into the room. "I promise, I will be careful about with what I tell people." Aria gave her mom a hug.

"I just want to make sure this town doesn't make you want to leave again." Ella's voice broke, her eyes closing as she hugged Aria tightly.

"I'm staying right here." Aria reassured her mom. "But I do want to take Luc out to the playground for the day. I promise, I will be home later." Aria pulled away.

"Okay." Ella wiped her eyes. "Have fun." She sniffled, as she broke down and smiled.

{EZRIA}

The air was rather crisp and cold, but there was no need for a hat and gloves just yet, only a winter coat. Pushing Luca's stroller down the sidewalks, not many people where outside and the ones that were didn't seem to recognize her. The playground was now in sight and although there were no kids, the area appeared to be well kept which made Aria happy that she could bring Luca here.

As a young girl, Aria remembered coming here and playing tag with her friends and having contests with Mike on who could swing the highest on the swings. This was the place where she learned to ride her bike and scrapped her knees, only to get an ice cream from her dad when she started to scream that she was going to die.

Stopping the stroller next to the swings, Aria bent down next to Luca and saw his excitement as he kicked his legs.

"You ready to go on the swings?" Aria asked, and smiled as she unbuckled him from his seat. With raised arms he reached for her to place him in the seat.

Once Luca was securely in the swing, Aria stood behind him, and gave a gentle push. The swing creaked loudly, but the only sound Aria could hear was his laughter.

"Do you like that Luc? Do you wanna go higher?" She gave another push.

"Are you touching the clouds? Reach… Reach high." Aria said, and Luca fearlessly raised his arms.

"Good job!" Aria expressed. She loved these moments with Luca when it was just the two of them and she could forget her problems.

{EZRIA}

Strolling through the heart of Rosewood, Aria noticed the new and old shops that had popped up since she left. Like the fact that the library got a new sign and there was a new coffee shop a few stores down called The Brew.

"Right there," Aria pointed out to Luca. "Is Lucky Leon's where they have the best chocolate chip cupcakes and over there is the-" Aria stopped. "Library." She whispered.

Aria's heart started to pound in her chest and the smile on her face was evidence as to how much she missed the tall dark haired guy walking out of the library. Ezra's nose was buried in the book in front of him, unaware of the young mother and child across the street staring.

Aria's attention was brought back to reality by Luca's rocking in the stroller bored at not moving. Looking down she realized this wasn't the time nor the place she wanted to run into Ezra.

Acting quickly, Aria made a beeline towards The Brew and ducked down just in time to see Ezra walk by without noticing her. Walking to his car, Aria closed her eyes remembering that rainy day when he had given her a ride. The butterflies were still fluttering in her stomach as she opened her eyes, hearing the radio in the background.

"Aria?" A familiar voice resonated against the music echoing about. Spinning around in the direction the voice had came from; she spotted a lengthy dark haired girl with olive skin behind the counter.

"Emily… hi." She greeted, maneuvering Luca's stroller towards the counter. From what Aria could tell, she still looked just as athletic as ever; down to the Rosewood swim t-shirt and jeans.

"I almost didn't recognize you. It's been so long." Emily gave her a warm smile.

"It has… how are you?" Aria tilted her head.

"Great. How was Iceland?" Emily questioned. Aria hadn't even thought that her friends wouldn't know the truth and as she opened her mouth she pondered what to say.

"It was- it was interesting." Aria lied, gripping the handle of the stroller tighter.

"Cool…" Emily hoped they could catch up later. "You know I tried calling you, but your parent's said you couldn't be reached." Emily gave Aria a puzzling look.

"Yeah, I was umm…" Aria tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Really busy, reception was terrible." She gave a laugh under her breath. Understanding, Emily nodded.

"And who is this? You're babysitting?" Emily peeked inside, seeing Luc's curly hair and chubby cheeks.

"He's my-" Aria paused. Remembering what her mom had said about Rosewood being a small town.

"His name is Luca." Aria clamped her mouth shut.

She hated the thought of lying to her friend, and even worse, lying in front of Luca. At least it wasn't a straight up lie, she hadn't actually confirmed or denied that he was her son; she just said his name.

"Hi Luca." Emily waved, and as usual his shy personality made him turn away.

"Luc, Can you say hi back?" Aria asked.

"Hi." He responded, with his head still turned away.

Emily gave a small laugh; looking back up at Aria she tilted her head as she intently looked at her friend.

"You're a natural with him. You're so much more mature then the last time I saw you, obviously we've all changed." Emily pondered the reality of the difference.

"A lot has changed," Aria sighed. "I heard about Ali." Aria whispered, frowning.

"You did?" Emily's voice too became quite. Aria nodded, remembering how the five of them had always been so close.

"Yeah, it was in the paper." Aria added.

A loud laugh caught Aria's ears immediately and she knew who it was, but the person sitting across from them, Aria never would have guessed.

"Speaking of change, when did that happen?" Aria pointed in the direction Spencer and Toby were in.

"A few weeks after Ali went missing." Emily folded her hands over her chest, a smile forming over her face seeing her friend with the ponytail and head arched back with a smile on her face laughing again at something Toby had said.

"I never would have thought that Spencer and Toby would be a couple…" Aria peeled her eyes from the pair, and turned back to Emily with wide eyes.

"They really are great together. Spencer deserves to be happy after you left and then Ali. I mean, we've all changed. Spencer started hanging out with Toby, and Hanna became best friends with Mona-"

"Wait, Mona Vandarwell?" Aria recalled, the short pigtailed girl she ran from with Ali as her guide.

"We all just drifted apart…" Emily shrugged.

"We did… Didn't we…" Aria lowered her head, glancing down at Luc.

Aria saw the shadow of someone behind her and Emily stood straighter as she fell back into business mode.

"Would you like the house special?" She asked Aria, who picked her head up and eyed the reaction, realizing she was standing at the counter.

"Oh… yes please. And a small lemonade for Luc." Emily punched her order into the register as Aria dug through her pockets for what little cash she had on her. Thankfully it was enough and she paid, biting her lip wondering how she would earn her money now that everything was changing.

"Here you go…" Emily smiled, handing her a small Styrofoam cup with a straw for Luc and another taller cup with a plastic lid for Aria.

"Thanks… See you Monday." Aria replied, turning the stroller towards the exit.

"Okay, bye." Emily waved, she was happy something was finally back to normal in this town.

{EZRIA}

The air had gotten a bit chillier as Aria walked up the driveway with her coffee cup in the holder. She could see her breath and Luc's nose was turning red from the cold. Seeing the car parked in the driveway, she was thankful because for one, she didn't have a house key and number two she wouldn't know where to look for one. The last thing she needed was a neighbor calling the cops saying she broke in.

She was about to ring the doorbell when she noticed the door was cracked open, just enough to where she could see in without it being visible to the whole neighborhood. Walking in, she pushed Luc's stroller into the hallway, feeling the warmth from the furnace.

"Aria, is that you?" Ella's voice called from the living room.

"Hi." Aria turned towards her mother's voice. Unzipping her coat, she saw her mom folding the laundry on the couch.

"How was the park?" Ella smiled, picking up a dishtowel and folding it like a hot dog bun.

"It was a lot of fun." Aria shrugged her coat off, and then bent down to help Luc out of his stroller before helping him with his coat. "Luc loved the swings." She added, removing his shoes and placing them by the front door.

"That's great." Ella glanced at Luca who walked over to the basket of colorful clothes, trying to figure out what it was.

"Yeah, I saw Emily at The Brew…" Aria nodded, taking her coffee and Luc's cup to the garbage in the kitchen. Back tracking towards the stroller, Aria folded the plastic and metal, wheeling it towards the wall next to the fireplace. "Did you know that Spencer and Toby Cavanagh are a couple?" Aria raised her eyes, still shocked as she turned around to face her mom.

"Yes," Ella laughed, at her daughter's surprised features. "It was a big shock to the whole town." Ella detailed further, picking up a pair of Mike's socks and folding them. "I see you've already found the kid hangout." Meaning The Brew. Ella tossed the socks into Mike's pile.

Beside the wall and next to the end table sat three blue bags with some boutique's name written in cursive printing.

"What is all of this stuff?" Aria bent down to examine one of the bags further. Holding the handle, Aria peeked inside and saw new baby clothes.

"Well I ran some errands today and I stopped by the mall to pick up some new clothes for Luc." Ella motioned towards the little boy who sat playing with a sock on his arm that was bigger than him.

"You didn't have to buy him new clothes, I have money and-"

"And it's a gift, Aria." Ella cut her off. Aria closed her mouth and swallowed her pride, as she looked at the bag again.

"Thank you." Aria acknowledged.

"You're welcome." Ella tilted her head towards her. "Besides, if he's going to go to daycare he's going to need some new clothes." Ella added, looking at Luca who had a huge smile on his face, even though he didn't know what they were talking about.

"Daycare?" Aria's head shot up.

"Well yes, where else would he be going while you are in school?" Ella chuckled.

"I just- He's never been away from me for a long period of time." Aria looked down at her bitten nails, afraid she would start to cry.

Ella could hear the worry in her daughter's voice and placed the article of the clothing in her hands on her lap as she looked directly at her daughter, who still had her head down.

"It's only a block away from Rosewood High and it looks really nice. It's been around a few years and he will have fun. I talked to the owner at the baby boutique at the mall. " Ella hoped this would change Aria's mind.

Seeing how she didn't have a choice, Aria sucked in a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay…" She agreed.

"Speaking of school, I called them and they said we can pick up your schedule in the office tomorrow morning, but they want an update on your medical records since you were gone for so long. I will set up an appointment for you and Luca at the doctors for sometime later this week." Ella saw Aria roll her eyes at the mention of the doctors, but she pretended like she didn't see it.

"Can't you just tell them that they lost my records in Iceland or something?" Aria waved, like she was pulling the words out of thin air.

"Even if we did that they would still want you to update them at the clinic here…" Ella explained.

"Fine…" Aria huffed.

"If it makes you feel any better I bought you some new clothes…" Ella pointed to the bags on the stairs.

"Mom, you don't have to keep doing everything for me. I'm not-" Aria's voice rose, and as Ella looked up at her, Aria bit her tongue. "Thank you, I appreciate it." Aria made a fist behind her back, as she tried to control her anger. It felt weird to have people doing things for her.

Turning around stiffly, Aria picked up the bags and walked up the stairs. Pushing the door to her bedroom open, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror directly in front her and she swallowed down her anger. She heard Luca's laughter ring through her ears from downstairs and she gave a weak smile. Her mom meant well, and maybe Luca would have fun at this new daycare, then everything would be okay in the end.

(EZRIA}

The dim light cascading through the hallway across from his room was something he hadn't seen in years as Mike rested his head upon his pillow. Tiny whispers were heard through the cracked doorway and he liked the sound. Everything finally seemed right at home.

Byron might be gone, but having Aria home was the best thing that had happened in a long time. Despite the crazy circumstances he loved Luc. It still seemed strange to see Aria with a baby, after all he still saw her as his sister who was always thought to be the youngest seeing as how short she was growing up.

Climbing out of bed, he ventured into the hallway, careful not to wake Ella whose bedroom was just down the hall as he softly knocked on the door.

"Aria?" He whispered, peeking his head inside. "You're still up?" He asked.

"Yeah…" Aria tilted her head, seeing a smile on Mike's face. She motioned him inside and as he did he closed the bedroom door. "I think that Sausage King got to me…" Aria gave a weak smile, rubbing stomach. "I'm not use to so much grease on one plate." She laughed.

Mike gave a small laugh as he watched Luca sitting on Aria's bed, playing with a book in Aria's lap.

"You will have to lay off that for a bit." Mike said, sitting on the edge of Aria's bed. The side lamp by her bed allowed for just the right amount of light as he glanced at all of the small items that littered her bedspread. "What is all of this stuff?" He motioned towards the stuff.

"This was everything I carried with me over the past few years. This was our life basically…" Aria sighed, looking at the contents, which was once stuffed in her orange bag.

"Can you tell me about it?" Mike felt awkward asking such a question, but he had to know.

Aria looked down at her crisscrossed legs and swallowed.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't right of me to ask…" He paused.

"No…it's okay." Aria shook her head. Aria licked her lips as she thought carefully about what she wanted to reveal. Something's she'd rather leave unspoken, but for some of the items scattered upon her bed, she was willing to speak about them. "Well this was Luc's baby bracelet; I got it at the hospital when he was born." Aria held up the tiny blue band.

"His wrist was really that small?" Mike gapped. Aria chuckled and nodded.

"I was so afraid to hold him, but I loved him so much and to think he was all mine…" Mike saw the sparkle in Aria's eyes, something he hadn't seen in awhile.

"What about the book?" Mike held up the worn copy of To Kill A Mockingbird, the pages almost falling apart.

"I got that at a bus station in Philly. It's been through every snow storm and rain we've had." Aria laughed again.

Mike set down the book as his eyes caught sight of the three pictures with bent and water damaged edges. One was of two people he didn't recognize, but then the other two he did. Five girls, two blondes and three brunette's laying on their stomachs in the tall grass, smiles on their faces as they stared down the lens. The other a family photo from their trip to Iceland, the time before their world changed.

"We looked happy then… It was all a lie, but I think you and I got along at least." Mike raised the photo of his 'happy' family.

"I'm sorry I never told you about what Dad did until we got back. He made me promise and it was stupid of me to keep it." Aria bit her lip.

"No, he never should have told you to keep the secret." Mike's voice grew angry and resentful.

"At least it's over and everyone has moved on…" Aria hoped to clear the air. "At least we have each other…" She smiled. Mike glanced up at her and returned the smile.

"Now I know who these girls are, but what about this photo?" Mike questioned. Aria's eyes grew heavy at the picture. The guy and girl in the photo were from life on the street, the people who looked out for her, but that was a dark place.

"Just two friends I met. They had a camera and we were goofing off." Aria waved it off. Mike could sense the emotional reaction and tucked it behind the photo of the girls, letting her know she didn't have to talk about it further.

"You have a bag of cheese puffs too?" Mike examined the plastic bag, confused. Luca's tiny hands reached for the bag and he took one from the opening before setting it in his lap.

"Janette, the nurse at the free clinic in Philly gave me a bag for Luc. They are his favorite." Aria chuckled, kissing the top of Luc's head.

"Mine too…" Mike spoke to Luca, leaning into him.

Silence fell over the siblings as Luca munched on the cheese snack. The wind outside was howling against the house and the tree beside Aria's bedroom window hit the side, making tapping noises. Aria watched Mike as he sat there, she could tell there was something else on his mind. He may have grown up, gotten even taller, and more mature of his age, but she still saw her little brother.

"Mike, what is it? What's wrong?" Aria pondered.

"You always did know me the best…" Mike rolled his eyes. "It's just…" He sighed. "If I had known I would have been there for you." He finally looked at her.

Aria saw the remorse and pain his eyes, he cared for her so much.

"It's okay…" Aria shook her head. She didn't want him to feel like this. It wasn't his fault she chose to leave, she thought. He shouldn't feel guilty about anything, Aria told herself. "Mom and dad thought that having Luc was a mistake, but-" Aria glanced down at the little boy, tears glistening her eyes. "But I wouldn't trade a single moment with him. He is a gift and yes, things were tough, but we had each other." Aria's voice broke.

Mike tried his best to hide his emotions, seeing how he wanted to be seen as tough, but this was just too much and he let his emotions flood forward. His eyes too filled with tears as he recalled the night he came home and everything had changed.

"I didn't even know anything." Mike swallowed his tears. "One minute, I'm at lacrosse practice and the next I'm sitting at the dinner table with mom and dad, and they told me that you were on a plane to Iceland." Mike detailed. Mike buried his head in his hands, trying to calm himself. Aria's hand immediately flew to his shoulder as she tried to settle him.

"It's okay…" Aria soothed.

"No… It's not." Mike spoke up. He lifted his head, looking her in the eyes. "I was angry at you, Aria. You didn't even say goodbye and I felt betrayed. Our family was falling apart and you just left me here to pick up the pieces." Mike's voice grew louder.

Aria swallowed, her throat constricting as she turned away. She had never thought about what it must have been like for him. She never thought about the consequences of leaving him behind. She had just wanted to get away from Rosewood as quick as possible.

"I-I am so-sorry…" Aria choked out, ashamed of what she had done.

Hearing Aria apologize made Mike feel horrible for what he had just admitted. Deep down, under all of the anger and confusion was love.

"No… I never should have thought that about you. Overtime I realized something was wrong, but I just didn't say anything." Mike proclaimed.

"You didn't know. Mom and Dad hid the truth so well…" Aria laced her words with a bit of sarcasm.

"I know, but I should have asked more. If I would have known-"

"What if's will always be there…" Aria cut him off. "But at least we have now and for Luc that's all that matters." Aria explained, smiling at the thought.

"I'm always here for you and Luc." Mike leaned over and gave Aria a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"Thank you…" Aria rubbed his back.

Pulling away the two smiled and once again silence filled the room. After a few minutes Luca yawned and Aria knew it was time for him to go to bed.

"I think that means our chat is over." Mike yawned.

"I should get him to bed, I start school tomorrow." Aria stated, the nerves evident in her voice.

"You will be fine." Mike encouraged. Aria looked up at her brother as he stood from her bed and walked towards the door. "Good night." Mike said, gripping the door paneling.

"Good night…" Aria tilted her head like she had done earlier.

As Aria gathered all of the small items on her bed and placed them back in her orange backpack, she heard the door to Mike's bedroom creak shut. Luca yawned two more times before she picked him up and turned off the side lamp. As she exited her room and carried Luca down the stairs she recalled the talk she had just shared with her brother, and hoped for many more to come.

Placing Luca down onto the makeshift bed, she made sure he was situated before crawling under the blanket on the couch and closing her eyes. The old hoodie she wore to bed was the same one she's been wearing for the past few years and as odd as it sounded, the smell and feel of the material helped her feel at ease as she drifted off to sleep.

**Yay! I'm so happy I've been able to continuously follow through with updating on time. I'm actually a chapter behind in my writing, but chapter 4 is completed and will be posted sometime next week. I'm trying to keep a steady pace of having 2-3 chapters written ahead. I hope your all enjoying where this story is going and for those of you who are waiting for the Ezria Action, there is a surprise next chapter!**

**PLEASE continue to REVIEW they help me know what your thoughts and ideas are about the story. If you leave me a review with your ****screen name whether your signed in or not I will be more than happy to reply. :)**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home:**

"You need to get some sleep. You're going to big boy school." Aria sighed. She knew this was the right thing to do, but her separation anxiety was kicking in. "But know that mommy is going to miss you so much." Aria stated, more so to calm herself then Luca.

{PLL}

"No, I get it." Ella sighed, knowing exactly what Aria meant. "He works there." She stated, and judging by Aria's reaction she knew she understood who he really was. "Ezra." Aria gripped the sides of her mug tighter. "You can say his name, mom." Aria glanced up at Ella who pursed her lips together and turned away.

{PLL}

Luca's tantrum elevated as Aria backed away. An older woman who Aria guessed was a classroom helper knelt beside Luc. "Mommy!" Aria heard, breaking her heart even more.

{PLL}

"Watch where your-" The voice grumbled, before pausing. "Aria?" The pitch changed, and as Aria moved the paper from her face she recognized the tall blond face before her.

{PLL}

"Cutting it close there Miss-" He spoke, but as he turned to her he froze. "Aria." He whispered.

{PLL}

"I can't believe you're here." Ezra finally broke the ice, sitting on the edge of his desk, gripping the ledge. His eyes were focused on the tile floor, his head swirling with thoughts. "I can't believe I'm back." Aria sighed.

{PLL}

"No one's sat at this table since freshman year." Spencer chuckled, sarcastically. "Spence." Aria smiled, her heart tugging at the thought of being reunited with her best friend.

{PLL}

"What's wrong? You've been acting like something's been bothering you since I met you at the parking lot." Ella stated. She hoped it didn't have anything to do with Ezra, she knew not to even ask. "Nothing." Aria sighed, standing up straight and turning around so she was facing her mom. "I just don't get why you would tell Spencer I would go tonight?" Aria raised her hands in frustration as she stood. "I have homework and I can't leave Luca." Aria listed off.

{PLL}

"Spence," Aria used her friend's nickname, making sure she had Spencer's full attention. "What happened to Ali?" She swallowed the lump in her throat. She watched as Spencer moved away from the table, hearing the exasperated breath as she stood before the framed photos, staring at the one of the five of them laying in the grass.

_**PLEASE REVIEW & I WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**_


	4. Returning to the Past

**A/N: Hi Everyone! Happy Memorial Weekend! I can't believe that I'm only three chapters in and already 52 reviews…52! ****Thank you to my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya for all your help. Thank you everyone who continues to READ, REVIEW, FOLLOW, AND FAVORITE this story. The wait is over, here is chapter 4. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

******I also have a Twitter account where you can leave me reviews atHeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or any other show that may come across in this story. I only own the characters in which I create.**

**Finding Home**

**Chapter Four: Returning to the Past**

❡Wake up❡

To sun '

Cause morning

Does come

If all you can rely on is

The feel of your feet on the wet floor.

If all you can depend on is all movement gives you some direction then

Begin again

You're no calendar

You're no concrete plan

Begin again

❡Don't waste your time waiting for someone to tell you that❡

{Begin Again by Measure}

The closing of the front door and soft whimpering beside her stirred Aria from her sleep as she turned her body on the lumpy couch. A disgruntled groan escaped Aria's lips as she rubbed her eyes, focusing in on Luca's distress.

Sitting up, Aria could see the faint outline of Luca's little body rocking on the blanketed floor. Blindly, Aria reached across the edge of the couch and towards the side lamp brightening the room with its soft glow.

"Hey Luc, you feeling okay?" Aria whispered, climbing down off the couch with the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She touched Luc's forehead feeling a slight warmth, but at least his breathing sounded normal.

"Dark. Too dark." Luca confessed, as his eyes filled with tears. Aria scooted closer to him, rubbing his back soothingly.

"It' okay buddy, I'm here." Aria comforted Luca who calmed by his mother's words. She should have realized that was the problem. All Luca knew of was the loud, lit up streets of Philly, a complete change from the dark deserted streets of Rosewood.

"You need to get some sleep. You're going to big boy school." Aria sighed. She knew this was the right thing to do, but her separation anxiety was kicking in. "But know that mommy is going to miss you so much." Aria stated, more so to calm herself then Luca.

The sudden illumination of the kitchen lights peeked Aria's attention as she caught sight of her mom walking barefoot in her robe towards the coffee pot.

"You're up early." Ella smiled warmly. "You have another half an hour before you have to get up for school." Ella yawned, removing a coffee mug from its hook above the sink.

"I couldn't get back to sleep once Mike left for morning practice." Aria explained, removing the blanket from around her body and picking up Luca. "It's hard for me to believe he's already driving." Aria walked from the soft carpet over to the cold hardwood floor of the kitchen.

"I know. I was terrified the first time I handed over my keys." Ella tucked her hair behind her ear as she took a second cup off its hook. "Lucky enough it was your father's car." Ella chuckled, reaching for the pot of coffee and pouring two cups.

"I can't help but think of him as my little brother who used to drive me crazy on the train in Iceland." Aria laughed, taking a seat at the island with Luca on her lap.

"You'll soon realize to cherish every moment because they grow up fast." Ella remarks, itching her nose as she motioned towards Luca.

"They do." Aria squeezed Luca close to her, kissing his forehead. "Does he feel warm to you? Maybe I should stay home with him." Aria suggested.

Ella reached across the counter and touched Luca's forehead, but she felt no sign of a fever. One look at her daughter's behavior and she knew what this was about.

"Aria, he will be fine." Ella assured her daughter.

"You're right." Aria took a deep breath. "Just nerves." Aria slowly let the breath out.

"I promise everything is going to be fine. The first day back is always the hardest, but it will get easier." Ella reassured her daughter, bringing her mug to her lips.

Aria swallowed the fear settling within her stomach. Going back wasn't going to be the hard part; it was seeing Ezra again. After so long she wasn't sure what to except.

"It's just a lot to take in." Aria looked down into her coffee. "I mean…" Aria paused. "Never-mind." She shook her head; she didn't want to discuss this matter now.

"No, I get it." Ella sighed, knowing exactly what Aria meant. "He works there." She stated, and judging by Aria's reaction she knew she understood who he really was.

"Ezra." Aria gripped the sides of her mug tighter. "You can say his name, mom." Aria glanced up at Ella who pursed her lips together and turned away.

Even after so many years Ella still found it difficult to grasp everything that's happened. She still blamed him for making her daughter run away. She blamed him; despite knowing it was her and her ex-husband's fault.

"I know, but I still wish that he-" Ella stopped. "Ezra, wouldn't be a part of your life anymore." Ella licked her lips.

"I knew coming back here I would have to see him." Aria recalled their words in the clinic when they discussed her coming home, reality hadn't hit her then. "No matter what happens," Aria bit her lip. "Whether he knows about Luc or not." Aria sighed. "He will always be a part of my life." Aria confessed. She knew the statement hurt her mom, but it was the truth.

Ella steadied her heart rate as she took a few deep breaths, knowing Aria was right, but still it bothered her. Glancing down, Ella fixed her gaze on Luca who was reaching for Aria's cup that was safely out of reach. She could see the uncanny resemblances of Ezra; there was no doubt about it.

"Speaking of that," Ella slowly began. "I think it would be a wise decision, if at least for now if Ezra doesn't know about Luc." She looked from Luc to Aria who sucked in a deep breath a rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is that you need to focus on school and on Luc." She hoped Aria would understand.

Aria understood and she wasn't rolling her eyes out of defiance. It was because she was annoyed of hearing this over and over again.

"I am focusing on school." Aria clarified. "And Luc is the most important person in my life." Aria adjusted Luc on her lap as he squirmed. "Trust me; I will stick to your story about Iceland." Aria huffed.

"Good." Ella cleared her throat, taking another sip of her coffee. "We should probably get ready for school if we want to have time to drop Luc off at daycare and still make it to school on time." Ella glanced at the stove clock and made her way around the island beside Aria, giving her a side hug and ruffling Luc's curls.

"Sounds good." Aria smiled. "Let me just fold these blankets on the couch, get Luc and myself dressed, and we can leave." Aria hopped down off her stool and back into the living room.

"I was thinking we could use Luc's pack-n-play as his crib for now so you can sleep upstairs in your bedroom." Ella tapped the side of her cup as she watched Aria set Luca down on the couch and proceed to fold the bedding.

"Alright." Aria nodded. "It will be nice to have a bed again. The couch is better than the park benches and subway seats, but a bed would be great." Aria detailed, unaware of her mother's shocked stare at the insight of her past. Aria turned towards Ella, smiling as she tossed the last pillow onto the couch. Ella weakly returned it, taking another deep breath before heading towards the stairs.

{EZRIA}

The drive to the daycare facility seemed a lot faster than Aria expected it to be. Ella rounded the car to the front entrance before killing the engine and stared at Aria who appeared to be a bundle of nerves.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Ella calmly asked, as she placed her hand over Aria's.

"No." Aria shook her head, taking a deep breath she looked in the backseat where Luca sat playing with his teddy bear. "No, I have to do this on my own." Aria restated, pulling her hand away.

"Okay, I will right her waiting." Ella alerted Aria as she watched her slowly exited the car and opened the back door.

Luca clung to Aria as if he understood what was about to happen. Aria was dreading this moment, but she knew she had no other option.

She pulled the heavy metal door open and entered the front office, seeing the company's logo on the welcome desk. The young secretary at the front desk had her eyes glued to the computer screen as Aria approached.

"Hi, I'm Aria Montgomery, and this is my son Luca." Aria cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the young brunette.

She smiled warmly as she stood from her swivel chair to get a closer look at the two. Reaching out her hand, Aria shook it with her free one balancing Luc on her hip.

"Welcome to Tiny Tots Daycare. I'm Gina, you mother told us you would be coming in." Aria smiled, dropping her hand to her side. There was a slight pause as Gina looked at Luca and smiled. He was so cute she thought.

"So umm… Do I have to fill-out any forms or anything?" Aria bounced Luc, trying to keep him occupied.

"Oh no," She tore her gaze. "Your mom already came in and did all that." She clarified.

"Of course she did…" Aria stated under her breath.

Gina pretended like she hadn't just heard Aria say anything and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Looking around her cluttered desk, she found the sign in sheet on the clipboard and a pen.

"All we need is your signature signing him in and then the logging time of when and who will be picking him up." She pushed the sheet in front of Aria and handed her a pen.

"Okay, there you go." Aria scrawled the information down.

Once Gina placed the sign-in sheet back on her desk she walked around to stand next to Aria. She could tell by Aria's stance that she was cautious about leaving Luca here and hoped she could ease her.

"Would you like to bring him into the classroom?" She asked, already knowing the answer. "Most parents like to on the first day." She detailed, as she motioned towards the hallway.

"Yes please." Aria let out a nervous laugh.

Aria followed close behind Gina as she led them down the hall and to a large wooden door with a small plexi-glass window.

"Now you know about Luca's condition right? He has trouble breathing and sometimes it can get really bad." Aria hugged Luc closer to her.

"Yes, your mom explained and we understand. We will keep a close eye on him. He will be safe here and most importantly, he will have fun." She assured Aria.

"Good." Aria took a shaky breath.

"Nervous?" Gina smiled, giving Aria a sympathetic look.

"That obvious?" Aria chuckled, looking down at her shoes.

"Don't worry, most are the first time they drop their kids off." Gina explained.

"This is the first time I've been away from him all day." Aria confessed.

"He will be fine." Gina reassured, as she opened the door to the brightly colored room with toys and tiny desks all around. The noise level was elevated as kids run about, playing with toys and drawing pictures at the tables.

"Well this looks like fun, Luc." Aria smiled, looking at him as his eyes widened to the new environment.

"When they first come in we let them play, but after lunch they work on a craft project, have nap time, and then a snack before you pick him up." Gina explained to Aria in further detail.

"He's still learning his alphabet and can only count to ten, but he knows all of his colors and shapes." Aria ruffled Luc's curls. "Oh," Aria almost forgot. "When he takes his nap, can you make sure he has his stuffed animal teddy? He won't sleep without it." Aria asked.

"Of course, Luca has his own cubby in the corner." Gina pointed towards a shelf. Aria nodded in the direction, seeing the small boxes with kid's personal items inside.

Everything had basically been covered and Aria knew it was time to leave. Bending down, Aria placed Luc on his feet and knelt in front of him so they were eye to eye. Aria put her hand on top of Luca's shoulders to keep him from moving as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"Luc, mommy has to go to school now." Aria managed to say. "You be a good boy and I promise I will pick you up right after I get out." Aria made sure he understood.

Luc could sense the change in his mother's voice and Aria could see the tears welling up in his eyes. "Stay." He cried, his cheeks turning red as he tugged on Aria's winter coat.

"Mommy has to go to school, buddy." Aria restated, but she knew he wouldn't listen.

"No." He cried again. "Stay!" He gripped tighter, his voice raising.

"I love you." Aria hugged him and kissed his cheek before prying his hands away and stood up.

Luca's tantrum elevated as Aria backed away. An older woman who Aria guessed was a classroom helper knelt beside Luc. "Mommy!" Aria heard, breaking her heart even more.

"Come on, I will walk you out." Gina guided Aria out of the room. "He will calm down in a few minutes." Gina told Aria as the door closed.

Standing by the window, Aria stopped and closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. "I don't think I can do this." Aria whispered. Not once since Luca was born had they spent a day apart.

"He's going to be fine." Gina encouraged, laying a hand upon Aria's shoulder. "By the time crafts are over and he has lunch he will be having so much fun." Gina remarked.

Aria nodded her head, knowing she was right. Luc was able to adapt well to new things and spending some time with kids his own age will help him develop socially.

"You're right." Aria smiled weakly.

"What did I tell you?" Gina chuckled, pointing towards the window. Aria peeked inside, careful so Luc wouldn't see. "He's already playing." Gina commented. Watching him build a tower of blocks, Aria released a deep breath. It was time for her to head to school.

{EZRIA}

Pulling into her parking space in the staff lot, Ella turned off the engine and took a sip of her coffee. Aria's face was turned away towards the school, watching her peers walked up the front steps.

"You ready to go in?" Ella broke the silence, but the car remained quite. "Aria, sweetie?" Ella tried again, this time touching her shoulder.

Jumping in her seat, Aria turned towards her mom startled.

"What?" Aria pulled back into reality. "Oh, yeah." Aria shook her head.

"You okay?" Ella asked concerned, tucking a strand of hair out of Aria's face.

"Yeah, just a little nervous. Thinking about Luc." Aria admitted.

"He's going to be fine and so will you." Ella encouraged, squeezing her daughter's hand.

"I've just never been away from him." Aria sighed, she knew she sounded like a broken record, but it was the truth.

"It will be good for both of you. Luc needs to interact with kids his own age, and you promised you would focus on school." Ella stated, hoping this would warrant Aria's commitment.

"I know." Aria replied. "I will." Aria confirmed, though looking back at the school sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn't remember the last time she had sat down in a desk or walked those halls. "It's just strange being back at the school." She commented.

Hearing Aria say those words tugged at Ella's heart. Aria loved school and she knew overtime everything would fall into place, but starting over would be a challenge. A challenge she knew Aria could conquer, but would take some time.

"I will walk you in since I have to pick up my mail. You'll have to pick up your schedule anyways." Ella said, stopping her runaway thoughts and unbuckled her seatbelt.

Taking a deep breath, Aria unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the car, carrying her old orange backpack on her shoulder. She found it ironic that the bag that once held her whole life held the supplies she would need to get a better education, a way for her to make a better life for her and Luca.

Aria followed close behind Ella who walked with confidence as she pulled open the double doors to Rosewood High. Upon entering, Aria retreated into the shy, small person she became when around a crowd of people. The streets were full of mismatched teens, but their stories lead them to be a family. Rosewood was like a giant swarm of upper-class wanna-bees with more secrets buried then there were places to dig holes.

Students gathered in tight cliques beside lockers and walking behind her mom didn't help the staring eyes. She doubted anyone recognized her, but it still made her feel uncomfortable. Tugging on her new long sleeve yellow sweater dress she swore, Aria hoped she could blend in.

"Good morning, Ms. Montgomery." A few girls called out, one of the opening the door to the front office.

"Hi girls." Ella politely smiled and waved. Aria gave them a weak smile as they watched her pass by, the girl who held the door open following behind Aria a stack of blue and white fliers in hand.

"Good morning, Ella. How can I help you?" A woman behind the secretary desk asked.

Aria moved beside her mom, recognizing the older woman from the few times she had entered the office for her mom those years ago.

"Good morning, Caroline. I just wanted to pick up my morning mail." Ella walked to the back of the room where the teacher's mailbox shelves were. Standing alone, Aria fixed the strap of her backpack, glancing towards the bulletin board where the girl from earlier stood posting fliers.

"You remember my daughter, Aria?" Ella asked. Hearing her name, Aria swiftly turned back to Caroline who nodded and smiled.

"My, you have grown up. How were your travels?" She asked, enthusiastically.

"Umm…good. Thank you." Aria smiled, feeling her cheeks burn from the attention. She swore the girl at the bulletin board had glanced her way at the gossip of the teacher's daughter returning, but by the time Aria looked the girl was at the door.

"I contacted Hackett over the weekend about getting Aria a schedule." Ella moved next to Aria, placing her mail on the ledge of the desk where she signed Aria in for the day.

"Oh yes." Caroline jumped to attention, glancing down at the files surrounding her computer. "Let me see…" She clicked her tongue a few times before she found a stack of files. "Montgomery… Montgomery…" She sifted through. "Here it is, Aria Montgomery." She handed the schedule to Aria.

"Thank you." Aria replied, scanning over the schedule.

"Well, we should get to class. Have a nice day." Ella acknowledged.

"Bye." Aria said, following behind Ella. Aria bit her lip trying to contain her swirling thoughts as she read the words English Teacher as the two headed out into the nosey hall.

"Would you like for me to walk you to your first class? They changed the classroom numbers last year." Ella stopped and turned towards Aria.

Eyes snapping up, Aria opened her mouth, closed it, and then shook her head. "No. No, I um…" Aria stalled, holding her schedule close to her. "I should do this on my own." Aria took a deep breath and smiled. The last thing she wanted was her mom walking her to class like some kid on the first day of school.

"You sure?" Can I at least know who your teachers are?" Ella pondered, reaching for Aria schedule. Clenching the paper in a fist, Ella got the hint. "It's him, isn't it?" She questioned, in a low tone.

Aria glanced around at the surrounding people, switching her weight from one foot to the other before looking back at her mom.

"Yes, but I can handle it." Aria stated, with as much confidence as she could muster-up.

"I'll have you transferred to another class. I guess-"

"No." Aria cut Ella off. "I said I'm fine." Aria huffed, slightly aggravated. Ella's facial expression showed concern and Aria knew her mom only wanted to help. "I mean, I knew I would eventually have to see him." Aria tried to bounce it off like it was on big deal. "I know my story." Aria took a deep breath and stared Ella in the eyes. "Iceland, remember?" Aria recalled.

Ella still wasn't happy about this, but she knew Aria was right. Pulling Aria in got a hug she relished the thought of having both of her children back at the school.

"Iceland." Ella whispered. Holding her daughter at arms length, she made sure she held Aria's full attention. "But if you want to talk you can always come to my classroom at lunch or study hall." She detailed.

"Thank you." Aria smiled. "But I should probably get to class and so should you." Aria laughed, stepping back and into the crowd of people.

With her mom not plastered in front of her Aria slipped along the sidelines, hoping to remain invisible as she searched for her first class. Gripping the handle rail, Aria blindly walked down the stairs to where the English department uses to be her schedule inches from her face as she looked for the classroom number on the sheet.

On the last step, Aria rounded the corner and gasped as she felt herself collide with another body.

"Watch where your-" The voice grumbled, before pausing. "Aria?" The pitch changed, and as Aria moved the paper from her face she recognized the tall blond face before her.

At least she thought it was her. Her hair was longer, her body much thinner, and the clothes defiantly more in style, but the smile was still the same.

"Hanna, is that you?" Aria gawked, as she fixed her bag from falling off her shoulder.

Hanna nodded and looked at her long time friend closely, she could barely believe it was her and she had changed so much. Pulling her in for a side hug, Hanna gave a small squeal of delight. Something's never change, Aria thought.

"I didn't recognize you." Hanna gripped her tighter before pulling her at arms length.

"You look great." Aria changed the subject, looking over the short pink dress with matching high heels and a pair of diamond earrings among the loose curly hair.

"Thanks, you too." Hanna smiled, Aria smiled too, but she knew the clothes were more of a cover-up. She wondered if they would be having this conversation had she been wearing her street clothes. "I haven't seen you in so long." Hanna broke Aria's train of thought.

"Yeah." Aria widened her eyes. "I was away at school." Aria replied.

"Hey, I'm throwing a party this weekend. You should come." Hanna literally jumped with excitement.

Aria swallowed her nervous at the thought of a party, she really wasn't one to party. Besides, she had Luc to watch.

"Thanks but-"

"Please, it will be like old times." Hanna pouted slightly.

Aria opened her mouth but a short brunette with a tight fitting blue dress interrupted.

"Hanna, come on." Aria guessed, it was Mona. Hanna turned and waved before looking back at Aria.

"I still live in the big white house on Pennrose Street be there Friday at 8pm. It's going to be a blast." Hanna spoke quickly.

"I-" Aria started, but was caught off by the school bell.

"Oh, I have to go. See you Friday night." Hanna pulled Aria in for another quick hug. "Bye." She said as she walked away.

"Bye." Aria gave a small wave, hearing the warning bell.

{EZRIA}

The classroom was full of students, some sitting on desks texting others throwing paper across the room. Standing in the doorway, Aria's breath caught in her throat as she watched him write on the blackboard. Pulling the door shut, the class came to attention, as did the teacher.

"Cutting it close there Miss-" He spoke, but as he turned to her he froze. "Aria." He whispered.

Hearing him say her name made her knees go weak and the room suddenly became quite. All eyes were on her; she realized when she finally found the strength to stop looking into those mesmerizing blue orbs.

"Um sorry." Aria cleared her throat, glancing down at her boots before finding the courage to speak again. "I will try to um-" She bit her lip embarrassed for her tardiness. "I will get to class on time tomorrow." She swallowed a deep breath.

He was still frozen in his stance, he couldn't speak. His eyes were trained on her, afraid to blink believing she would disappear. It had been almost three years since he had last seen her and his feelings still remained the same.

The only sound in the room was that of students whispering and Aria realized she needed to break the tension. Remembering the schedule in her hands Aria looked at the sheet before taking a step towards him.

"Here's my schedule, I'm in your class." She explained, feeling warmth running through her as their fingers grazed at the exchange.

Slowly, Ezra looked over the paper and glanced up at Aria. He still couldn't believe she was back.

"I see." He stated, trying to compose himself in his teacher mode. He handed the paper back to Aria, rubbing the back of his neck he scanned the room for an empty desk. "Why don't you take the seat in the back." He pointed

"Thank you, Mr. Fitz." Aria smiled, walking past him. Spotting Spencer in the front seat next to the window they exchanged smiles as Aria shuffled to the last desk. Placing her bag on top of the desk she zoned out as Mr. Fitz, Ezra started the class.

{EZRIA}

Ezra tried his very best to keep his focus on the lesson at hand, but every few minutes his eyes would linger on the short brunette in the back. Carrying on the lecture, Ezra looked at Aria who sat with her chin resting in the palm of her hand, clinging to every word he spoke, though he figured she was clueless to what the story was even about.

"Like we covered last week," Ezra drawled on, taking a sip of his cold coffee. "For the story to have so much emphasis on the unknown, it's surprising in the end how it appears as if everything happened for a reason." Ezra picked up the worn teacher's edition of _All I Want To Do_.

The bell signaling the end of class broke the lecture, sending students scurrying to pack their belongings. Quickly, Ezra explained their homework assignment as he held their attention a few seconds longer.

"Okay, I will see you all tomorrow. Don't forget to read chapter 13." He clapped his hands together, scanning the room over.

Aria stood from her desk, unzipping her backpack placing her notebook inside. Ezra debating whether now was the time to have a one on one talk or if he should just let her go.

"Aria, can I see you for a moment? I want to give you the syllabus." Ezra used as his excuse.

Aria closed her eyes, biting her tongue. She was dreading this from the very moment she stepped foot back into Rosewood. Staying after wasn't about classroom rules and assignments and they both knew it. It was about her abrupt departure and her sudden return with no warning.

Zipping her backpack shut Aria heard the classroom door close. They were the only two in the room and the distance between them, as far as they could get.

Silence filled the air, that thick tension returning as Ezra sat on the edge of his desk and Aria swung her backpack over her shoulder. Taking her time, walking up to him she kept a small distance between them but she could still smell his cologne.

"I can't believe you're here." Ezra finally broke the ice, sitting on the edge of his desk, gripping the ledge. His eyes were focused on the tile floor, his head swirling with thoughts.

"I can't believe I'm back." Aria sighed. Hearing her speak, Ezra looked up and engrained every detail of her he could into his memory. He noticed she was much thinner than she used to be and that even when he sat he was still towering over her. There was something different about her that he just couldn't place. She appeared to be the same Aria who would once hole up in his apartment to eat Chinese and play solitaire on Friday nights.

But the look in her eyes, told him that first day in the bar. He hadn't seen her as a child, but this Aria standing before him wasn't even that Aria.

"What happened?" Ezra asked, waiting for an answer but Aria just stared down at the floor. She didn't know what to say. Where to begin, she didn't even know what he knew. "You were with me in my apartment and then," he paused. "Then your mom was telling the school that you transferred to Iceland?" Ezra recalled the memory as if it was yesterday.

Aria took a deep breath; at least she knew where to begin. At least she knew how to begin her web of lies.

"It's true." Aria finally spoke up. "I-I just got back." Aria clarified, taking a step closer, but still giving them distance.

"You never called or responded to my texts." Ezra furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Not even my emails. It's like you dropped off the face of the Earth." Ezra detailed, watching as Aria looked to the floor again, unable to look him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry," Aria shook her head, her long hair falling into her eyes. "But I couldn't contact you." She added, trying not to cry.

"Couldn't?" Ezra's voice rose. "Or wouldn't?" Ezra's voice fell. "There is a difference, Aria." Ezra emphasized her name. She could hear the pain in his voice. She could read him like a book. She knew he was hurting and she couldn't and wouldn't blame him. She left him without a worked, but she couldn't tell him why. Not the truth at least.

"Ezra please-"

"Please what?" Ezra's voice rose again. "What do you expect me to-" Ezra couldn't find the words. Here she was standing before him and instead of pulling her in for a hug or a kiss like he desperately wanted to he was questioning her.

With a bit of clarity, Ezra realized this wasn't how he wanted this to go. This wasn't the place needed to speak somewhere where a desk wasn't between them.

"Can you please just come over to my place tonight? After school so we can talk?" He asked.

Aria glanced up at him, seeing the pleading look in his blue eyes, but she knew she couldn't.

"Ezra I-" she started.

"Ezra can I borrow your-" A plump woman with greying hair opened the door. Aria closed her mouth and Ezra closed his eyes in annoyance at Mrs. Welsh's timing. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were with a student." She stepped further inside, apparently waiting for their conversation to end so she could speak to the young teacher.

Seeing this as her escape, Aria adjusted her backpack and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Sighing, Ezra looked behind him and found the syllabus for the class.

"So um…here is the syllabus for the class. Don't worry about the worksheets, you can get the book and start on the assignments next week." Ezra explained, handing Aria the paper.

"Thank you Mr. Fitz. I really should get to my next class." Aria scurried towards the door, giving Mrs. Welsh a small smile. Obviously she didn't recognize her.

"What about-" Ezra began.

"I have to get to class." Aria restated, opening the door and slipping out not giving Ezra the chance to stop her again.

Outside the door, Aria let out a happy sigh closing her eyes as she leaned again a nearby locker. The warning bell rang loudly in her ears and she found herself running to her next class.

{EZRIA}

The lunchroom was packed and noisy, but still Aria sat alone at the round table. Pushing her fork around her plate, Aria made a face as she tried to guess the mystery food. Scooping up a clump of macaroni surprise she let it fall to the plate where it plopped back down.

"Wow…" A curious voice caught Aria's attention followed by a tray being set down across from her. Looking up, Aria smiled at the familiar face of Spencer Hastings's, as she scooted out her chair. Aria caught a glimpse of Spencer's outfit, a light denim blouse with a beige pleated skirt. Paired with a brown leather belt and cowgirl boots. A dainty silver necklace hung tight around her neck and her hair was slicked back in a ponytail.

"No one's sat at this table since freshman year." Spencer chuckled, sarcastically.

"Spence." Aria smiled, her heart tugging at the thought of being reunited with her best friend.

"How are you, Aria?" Spencer asked, opening her milk carton and taking a swig keeping her eyes trained on her friend.

"I'm good." Aria shrugged her shoulders. As good as she could be anyways. "It's good to be back." Aria nodded, deciding that being with her long-time friends was where she needed to be. Where she wanted to be all along.

"I've missed my Team Sparia." Spencer laughed again.

Aria chuckled too; she too has missed their deep bond. She was closets to Spencer out of all the girls they were more like sisters than anything else. They finished each other's sentences and helped pick out each other's outfits.

"Looks like I've missed a lot." Aria sighed, thinking about how far her friends have come no one sat at this table when Aria's still stuck at this table. "Hanna…Emily..." Aria remarked. "Even Ali." Aria paused, looking down at her plate. "What exactly happened?" Aria questioned. If her mom wasn't going to give her answers she figured her friends would.

Glancing up at Spencer, Aria noticed how she kept her head down. The thought of Ali never left Spencer's mind, the thought of Aria never did either but at least she was back.

"It's a long story." Spencer shook her head, rolling her eyes as she looked away from their table.

Aria swallowed her building anxiety of no one telling her the truth and the pain of losing her friend with no knowledge. Figuring she ought to change the subject, Aria took a deep breath to clear her head. Staring at the two empty seats around the table Aria used her fork to gesture towards them.

"So where are Hanna and Emily? I thought all seniors have this lunch?" Aria scanned the room to make sure she hadn't missed them.

Picking up her orange, Spencer dug her painted nail into the skin and began peeling back the outer layer. Recalling the past few years how slowly each member of the Ali clan drifted away.

"Em usually goes to the pool and Han's either with the yearbook committee or with Mona drooling over her boyfriend Sean at the basketball court with his groupies." Spencer explained, tossing bits and pieces of the peel onto her Styrofoam tray.

"I ran into Hanna earlier." Aria stated her eyes widening at remembering the drastic change. "I couldn't believe it." She shook her head, hearing Spencer laugh as she bit into an orange wedge. Spencer knew it was old news to her, but seeing Aria's reaction made the gossip sound new again. "It's like I leave suddenly everything's changed." Aria sat back in her seat.

"You can say that again." Spencer stated, sarcastically again. "Hey," Spencer got an idea. "Why don't you come over to my place tonight so we can catch up?" Spencer's smiled grew.

Aria opened her mouth and slowly shook her head, trying to come up with an excuse.

"I really can't. I um… I- I have to unpack and my mom-" Aria stuttered.

Aria watched as Spencer's eyes darted next her, turning around Aria jumped slightly spotting her mom by the vending machine. Catching eyes, Ella walked over with a smile on her face and food in hand.

"Aria sweetie, how's everything go?" Ella asked cheerfully.

"Oh um- good. Just having lunch with my friend." Aria gestured towards Spencer.

"Hi Mrs. Montgomery." Spencer acknowledged with a smile and sat up straighter in her seat.

"Hi, Spencer." Ella waved

"So what are you doing here?" Aria asked her mom, hoping she would get a quick answer and then leave.

"I'm on my lunchroom duty and I wanted to check on you." Ella pulled back a lock of hair away from Aria's shoulder and onto her back.

"Well like I said, just catching up with Spencer." Aria restated.

"So Mrs. Montgomery, I was wondering if Aria could come over tonight? She said she has to unpack and stuff, but would you mind?" Spencer questioned, ignoring her friend's surprised look at being called out in front of her.

"Oh sure…" Ella smiled; she wanted Aria to go be a normal teen with her friends. "You can go with your friends." Ella approved, seeing the mix of emotions flooding through Aria's featured.

"Great, it's settled." Spencer finalized, agreeing to the arrangement like Aria wasn't even in the room.

"Okay then, well lunch will be ending in a few minutes so I'm going to head back to my classroom." Ella glanced at the clock. "I will meet you in the parking lot after school?" Ella confirmed and Aria gave a side ways smile. "Bye, Spencer." Ella waved off.

Watching her mom walk away Aria breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling the table move, Aria turned to see Spencer making her way to the garbage can along the wall. Tossing her trash, Spencer retreated back to her seat, but instead of sitting she bent down to her satchel and crossed it over her chest,

"I have field hockey and debate team after school, but you can come by say…6ish." Spencer suggested.

"Sounds good." Aria gave a smile, hoping it didn't give away her anxiety. It had been awhile since she had been to someone's house just to have fun.

"Good, see you later." Spencer waved, proceeding to walk towards the exit.

Aria wasn't sure how this would turn out, she just hoped she could lie her way through the evening long enough to keep her secret safe.

{EZRIA}

The rest of the school day flew by, to Aria it was the start of a new school term, but it also meant the start of homework and schedules, stuff she hadn't had to worry about in years. It would take some getting used to.

Happy to have Luca back in her arms, Aria walked up the front steps behind her mom as she unlocked the door. Once inside Aria closed it and set Luca down on the floor, helping him remove his jacket and fiddling with his green plaid shirt to get rid of the bunches.

"Would you like me to make you a quick dinner before you head over to Spencer's?" Ella asked, shedding her suit jacket and removing some essays from her briefcase.

"Peter." Luca pointed to his backpack.

"No, I'm fine." Aria replied, slightly irritated as she reached across Luca to his backpack and retrieving his teddy bear before handing it to him.

Hearing the obvious annoyance in her daughter's voice yet again, Ella eyed Aria with her hands resting on her hips.

"What's wrong? You've been acting like something's been bothering you since I met you at the parking lot." Ella stated. She hoped it didn't have anything to do with Ezra, she knew not to even ask.

"Nothing." Aria sighed, standing up straight and turning around so she was facing her mom. "I just don't get why you would tell Spencer I would go tonight?" Aria raised her hands in frustration as she stood. "I have homework and I can't leave Luca." Aria listed off.

Now Ella understood, but she still didn't see what the problem was with going over to Spencer's. Placing her hands on her table, Ella sighed.

"I thought you would like to spend time with your friend, you two were inseparable." Ella detailed.

Aria rolled her eyes, stepping into the kitchen as she stood across from her mom. "That was like three years ago." Aria said.

"Just think of it as a study session." Ella shrugged; figuring this was the only way Aria would see reason to go. "Have a snack, do your homework, and then relax with a movie or something, be a kid again, I bet you haven't had that in awhile." Ella rambled, motioning towards Luc as she started assembling her grading system on the table.

"Not that kind of fun…" Aria mumbled, crossing her arms. Fun on the streets wasn't exactly supervised fun and even with Luca Aria had experienced some activities.

"What?" Ella stopped, looking up.

"Never mind." Aria let her arms fall to her sides, shuffling in her place. "I just don't want to leave Luc." Aria reiterated.

Ella huffed at going around in circles with her daughter. Reaching into her purse, she removed her cell phone and slid it across the granite countertop towards Aria.

"You now have my cell phone; you can call me on the house phone anytime." Ella explained, watching as Aria looked over the phone trying to figure out the buttons.

"I appreciate your help. I do," Aria picked up Luc who was tugging on her pant leg for attention. "I would rather stay with Luc, and concentrate on my homework. I haven't seen Luc all day and he gets fussy at night." Aria bounced Luca in her arms as he smiled at her. She gave him a quick kiss to his cheek, listening as Ella spoke.

"Spencer is one of your best friends, and if you don't want to raise suspicion as to what really happened over the past few years you need to be with your friends." Ella reasoned.

Aria once again sighed; this was about keeping her secret safe. To be honest, she wouldn't mind some girl time with the better half of Team Sparia, she was just afraid of spilling her secret.

Saying she was in Iceland is one thing, but making up the past few years would be the hard part. Being the same old Aria would be even harder.

"Besides, Luc will be just fine. Won't you Luc?" Ella reached out her hands for the little guy. He went to her with ease which made Aria smile, her mom was growing attached to the person she never thought she never would even have the chance of meeting.

"Cookie." Luc pointed to the jar on the counter behind him, ignoring his grandma's question.

"I've raised two kids, and it's a grandma's prerogative to spoil him." Ella took a step back and removed the ceramic lid from the jar. Luc took the cookie Ella gave him, taking a rather large bite.

"Fine, I'll go." Aria bit her lip. "But I'm going to call you at his bedtime." Aria flashed the phone in the air.

"Fair enough." Ella agreed. Looking at Luca, crumbs were visibly on his chin as he gave her a toothy grin. Wiping off the crumbs Luca let out a giggle as Ella brought her forehead to his with a matching smile.

{EZRIA}

With her duffle bag and backpack in hand Aria stood on Spencer's doorstep, the sun just beginning to set behind her. The short walk had given her a chance to think, but standing at the door still had her head swirling with thoughts. Last time she had been here was for a sleepover with the five of them and everything had appeared right in the world. Now, everything was different.

Aria knocked on the door, reining in her emotions as she took a deep breath. After waiting a few minutes for the door to open and getting no response she looked through the window next to the wicker chair. The house appeared dark, too dark for the family to be home.

"Spencer? Spence, I'm here." Aria knocked again.

Aria furrowed her eyes, looking behind her at the drive-way; the Hastings's car wasn't parked meaning no one was home. Confused but somewhat relieved at the prospect of not having to be there, Aria watched her step as she walked down the porch. She had just made it to the sidewalk where Spencer and Alison's yard divided by a wooden fence when she heard her name.

"Aria?" Upon hearing her name, Aria turned towards the fence and walked to the door. "Sorry. I forgot my parent weren't going to be home." She apologized, as she unlatched the hook and swung the door open. "I moved into the barn a few years ago." She explained.

"That's cool." Aria tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Taking another deep breath, Aria gripped her duffle bag tighter as she followed Spencer through her backyard and to the barn. The soft cold grass could be felt as Aria spotted the trail leading to the kissing rock, smiling at the legendary stories told by the people who went there.

"I'm still settling in, but I prefer it to living with Melissa and my parents." Spencer chuckled, as she turned on another light switch. The string of blubs dangling down from the roof caught Aria's eyes like stars lighting up the night sky.

It certainly looked bigger than the outside made it look. Standing in the doorway taking it all in, Aria stood surprised. It looked complete to her, the walls were wood paneled and there was a big wine colored rug laid out on the wood floor. A beige vase with white lilies and fake red berries sat upon Spencer's desk next to the window in the corner.

Spencer ushered Aria inside, as she walked over to the mini fridge retrieving two sodas from the tiny kitchen where only a small sink and circle table stood with four chairs around it.

Dropping her duffle bag and removing her backpack from her shoulders by the door, Aria took a few steps. Spencer handed Aria her can before plopping down on the futon against the back wall. Removing the black and white poka-dot pillows that were in the shape of circles off of the futon. Spencer tugged on the blood red blanket trapped over the edge of the futon and sprawled it over her legs.

"Wow…" Aria finally spoke. "This place… this is so...Wow." Aria gawked as she sank down onto the futon next to Spencer, sitting on the blanket.

"Thanks," Spencer laughed, watching as Aria looked around. "I designed it myself. I asked my mom if I could renovate it and since I got straight A's she let me take over for the summer. Beats living with Melissa when she's home from the city." Spencer stated as she took another sip of her soda.

"City life is not fun that's for sure." Aria replied, glancing over the one room housing, noticing the photos of the girls hanging on the wall opposite the desk. Looking back at Spencer she noticed the puzzled look on her face. "I mean I went to the city a lot. I prefer the quite…" Aria swallowed her anxiety, hoping Spencer believed the lie.

Spencer nodded at the statement and brushed aside the confusion as she once again stood from the futon and walked over to the kitchen, removing a bowl and bag of popcorn from the cabinet above the sink.

"I don't have much, just popcorn and PB and J for sandwiches, you want anything?" Spencer offered, twisting the bag until the seal broke and she dumped the white cheddar popcorn into the orange bowl.

"Oh um… a peanut butter and jelly sandwich sounds great." Aria stood and walked to the round table as Spencer removed the bread and jars of peanut butter and jam setting them down.

"Thanks." Aria tucked her hair behind her ear as Spencer placed a plate and butter knife in front of her.

"So how was that by the way?" Spencer asked, referring to their previous topic.

"What?" Aria questioned, removing two slices of white bread from the bag.

"Iceland. That must have been some experience being away from home." Spencer smiled, leaning against the chair between her and the table. She hoped her friend would delve into the juicy details.

Aria twisted the jar of the peanut butter open, her eyes trained down at her task at hand as she quickly thought up a lie. Something simple, but believable. It seemed like lying to the cops and sneaking into abandoned buildings was easier than lying to her best friend at the moment.

"It was um…some experience." Aria sighed, spreading peanut butter on her bread and then closing the lid. "I learned a lot." Aria swallowed the lump in her throat, glancing up at Spencer who was once again looking at her tentatively.

"I think we've all grown over these past few years." Spencer laughed, before taking a hand full of popcorn and shoveling it into her mouth. Hoping to change the subject, Aria laughed and twisted the lid off the jam hearing the metal top spin once in hit the table surface.

"I saw you with Toby over the weekend at the Brew." Aria recalled the couple at the corner table, the lovey glint in Spencer's eyes as she looked across at the pretty blue eyed boy.

"Yeah…" Spencer blushed, her smile widening. "I saw you talking to Emily." Spencer remembered spotting her friends at the counter. "I would have gotten up, but I saw you were on baby duty." Spencer stated.

Aria's eyes once again focused on her sandwich as she placed the two slices together and cut it diagonally, the way Luc liked it. "His name is Luca...uh, Luc." Aria smiled, trying to keep her heart from bursting out of her chest, she wanted to spill her secret so badly.

"You're babysitting now?" Spencer questioned, watching as Aria took a hardy bite of her sandwich.

Aria took her time chewing, debating whether or not to tell the truth. She desperately wanted to tell someone, someone who wouldn't judge her.

"Spencer he's my-" But telling would only cause for more questions. "Yes, I'm babysitting him." Aria stated, leaving a bad taste in her mouth, or maybe it was the grape jam, she preferred strawberry. She took a large gulp of her soda, washing down the contents of her sandwich.

"Are you sure I can't get you something besides the sandwich?" Spencer examined as she watched Aria stuff another bite of her sandwich into her mouth.

"No," Aria shook her head. "This is so good." Aria spoke with her mouth full, covering her mouth upon remembering her manners. "I haven't had one of these in years." Aria added, swallowing.

"They don't make them in Iceland?" Spencer tilted her head, her voice dripping of sarcasm as she spoke.

"No." Aria quickly said, not realizing the humor behind it, her eyes going wide as Spencer caught the all too quick response. "I mean, no they don't. They are more of an Icelandic cod place..." Aria remarked with a laugh. "So tell me more about Toby?" Aria hinted at Spencer, hoping to get the focus off herself again.

"He is the best." Spencer giggled, shaking her head in embarrassment. Aria caught the glimmer of love in Spencer's eyes and smiled at seeing her friend so happy. "I've really fallen for him." Spencer admitted. "He's not the guy Ali told is he was." Spencer tugged on her ponytail, remembering the times Ali had warn the girls to stay away from him. Telling stories of how he liked to peep into their windows and pull the heads off of squirrels. "He's sensitive, a hard worker, and his abs." Spencer listed off, laughing at her last comment.

Aria covered her mouth to keep her soda from spewing across the table at Spencer as she laughed. She had to admit that Toby was cute, and that they seemed to balance each other, but the thought of seeing Toby's abs just made her laugh.

She missed this, the girl talks. Staying up all night to talk about everything and nothing. A long silence filled the room as Aria looked over the photos along the wall, remembering the moment each one was taken. In every one of the five girls, Ali was always dead center, the center of attention and Aria felt her stomach drop again.

"Spence," Aria used her friend's nickname, making sure she had Spencer's full attention. "What happened to Ali?" She swallowed the lump in her throat.

She watched as Spencer moved away from the table, hearing the exasperated breath as she stood before the framed photos, staring at the one of the five of them laying in the grass.

When Aria didn't get a response from Spencer right away she expressed further, hoping this would convince her friend to spill the details. "The paper just gave minor details and my mom…" Aria sighed. "Well…she wouldn't tell me anything." Aria finished.

"I saw the paper today too." Spencer whispered. "She's gone, but she's everywhere." Spencer bit her tongue.

Spencer turned around to face Aria, seeing the pleading look in her friend's eyes. She knew Aria deserved to know the truth and not the half-chat of the town, besides Aria had been just as much Ali's friend as the four of them were after Aria had left.

"She just disappeared." Spencer stated, walking back over to the futon, she opted for the floor, sitting on top of the rug, pulling her knees under her as she held a pillow close to her chest. Aria took this as a sign to come and join her friend as Spencer dove deeper into the story.

"You were already gone," Spencer picked up as Aria sat beside her. "But we still threw our end of the summer party, just the four of us." Spencer recalled. Spencer chuckled at the next thought that crossed her mind. "It was actually right here, in the barn before I remodeled it." She stated.

Aria bit her lip as she played with the rug beneath her, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. She knew Ali liked her games, but she had never run away like this before. She pushed back her thoughts as Spencer spoke again.

"She was just goofing off…" Spencer rolled her eyes, dropping her face in frustration at being so smart but not having the answer to this question. For the past few years she had replayed every detail in her head, hoping something would trigger the answer, drop the clue as to what happened that night. "She had this video camera and-"

"She had a video camera? Why?" Aria cut Spencer off, her eyes widening and her heading popping up. Fear shot up Aria's spine as she searched her friend's face for any reasoning behind Ali's strange video details. Spencer just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, her mouth open like she was a fish out of water.

"I don't know… We fell asleep and when we woke up she was gone." Spencer huffed.

"And you haven't heard from her since?" Aria questioned, liking her dry lips.

"No, we haven't." Spencer replied. "We had search parties and everything, but she never came home." Spencer tossed her pillow aside.

"It's hard to believe that all of this happened in a few short years." Aria rolled her eyes. "I mean," Aria sighed. "When I left I thought I would never come home." Aria remembered her vow she had made to herself as she got on the bus leading out of town.

"What do you mean?" Spencer furrowed her forehead at her friend's statement. "Rosewood is home. You can leave Rosewood, but Rosewood will never leave you." She commented.

"I know…" Aria groaned, switched positions on the floor, her feet falling asleep underneath her. "But Rosewood-" Aria paused. "Rosewood it's just a very small town." She breathed out. "Too small sometimes…" She whispered.

Spencer could tell there was more to the story, but figured she wouldn't press Aria on the subject. She knew Aria was one to keep things tucked away until she wanted someone to know the truth and judging by her reaction she knew given time it would be revealed.

Spencer yawned and pulled the ponytail from her hair, letting her long brown hair frame her face. She caught Aria yawning too, the contagious reaction alerting Spencer that now would be the best time for bed.

"I think I'm going to get dressed for bed." She motioned towards the tiny bathroom door in the back corner of the room.

"Okay," Aria yawned again, covering her mouth. "I should probably call my mom." Aria removed her mom's cellphone from her pocket.

Spencer walked towards the bathroom with her PJ's in hand, Aria waited for the door to click shut before walking to the duffle bag by the door. Dialing the number that read home, Aria watched the door for Spencer, listening to the ringing over the line.

Finally the ringing gave way to static before a voice was heard on the other end. "Aria how is the sleepover?" She could hear her mother's voice.

"Good, we just had a snack and now were heading off to bed." Aria recalled the night's events.

"Great to hear." Ella replied.

"How's um…" Aria paused. "How is he?" Lowering her voice to a whisper she asked.

"Luc's doing so well." Ella smiled, pulling Luc close to her as she fixed the tail of his PJ top from riding up his back. "He had spaghetti and a small piece of garlic toast for dinner. Mike even snuck him another cookie for dessert." Ella detailed. "I just got him dressed for bed and brushed his teeth." Aria heard her mom say as she tucked the phone between her neck and ear as she pulled her clothes from her duffle bag.

"Don't forget he doesn't like the dark, and he needs his teddy bear Peter Pan." Aria reminded, glancing at the bathroom door.

"I know." Ella chuckled, handing the teddy bear to Luc who hugged it close to his chest. "Mike is making his bed as we speak and Luc has his teddy." Ella confirmed.

"Okay…" Aria sighed, realizing everything was going fine without her. "Can I say goodnight to him?" Aria bit her lip, wondering if that was really such a good idea, but she just had to speak to him.

Aria could hear the shuffling of the phone as her mom's voice echoed, "Hey Luc, it's mommy." Ella shook the phone in front of him. He waddled towards her with his teddy in hand as he sat down in her lap. Ella held the phone to his ear as he bent his head exaggerating the need.

"Mommy…" Luc's sleepy voice rang over the phone.

"Hey buddy, you having fun?" Aria's grin spread from ear to ear, her heart skipping a beat at hearing his little voice.

"Fun." Luc answered, simply.

"I miss you," Aria spoke, trying to keep her tears at bay. "But I will see you tomorrow morning." Aria assured him. She watched the bathroom door and heard the water from the sinking running, knowing Spencer was almost done so she wrapped up the conversation with Luc. "I love you. Good night." Aria yawned. She waited for Luc to reply, but all she heard was the shuffling of the phone again and then her mom's voice.

"Luc is falling asleep in my arms as we speak so I'm going to let you go." Ella laughed, kissing Luc's head. "See you tomorrow morning when I pick you up." Ella confirmed the meeting.

"Yeah, I want to see Luc before school so make sure you get here early." Aria agreed.

"I will. Good night." Ella nodded, although Aria couldn't tell over the phone anyways.

"Night." Aria signed off, just as the bathroom door opened and Spencer emerged in a t-shirt and a pair of PJ pants.

"I can drive you in the morning if you would like?" Spencer offered, removing the extra blanket off of her bed and placing it on the floor for Aria.

"Oh no, I promised my mom I would help her with some school stuff." Aria replied, gathering her PJ's and heading towards the bathroom.

"Okay." Spencer turned towards Aria just as the bathroom door closed.

Aria quickly changed, thankful that she had gotten through the evening without spilling her secret and gaining more information about Ali. She was still concerned about Ali's reasoning for the video camera and her sudden vanishing, but hopefully it was just a coincidence. Looking in the mirror as she brushed her teeth Aria took a deep breath in, her minty breath filling her nose and throat as she pondered the thought.

Spencer heard the door open and saw the bathroom light turn off as Aria emerged from the small space. The room was dark except for Spencer's night lamp beside her futon bed. Spencer was already tucked between her covers as Aria got down on the floor and under the blankets.

Spencer flipped through the book on her bed; the one Mr. Fitz had given them to read for the year. It was an interesting and heartfelt book despite only being on chapter thirteen. She dug herself deeper into her covers as she glanced between the pages and at Aria.

"Hey, did you get the book for Mr. Fitz class yet?" Spencer asked, knowing with Aria just coming back she might not have the book.

"No. I still need to get my books." Aria replied, fixing her blanket so it would cover her feet.

"Here," Spencer bent down and handed the book to her. "You can borrow mine." Aria was about to protest when Spencer spoke up. "Melissa gave me her copy so now I have two."

"Thanks." Aria turned to the back cover seeing a picture of a dashing young man and a woman holding a little boy close to her. "You know something, Spence?" Aria sat the book down. Resting her head on her pillow she glanced up at Spencer who did the same staring down at Aria. "I'm really happy I came tonight." She smiled.

"Me too." Spencer smiled, and then yawned. "Good night." Spencer added.

"Good night." Aria replied, closing her eyes.

With this, Spencer turned off her side lamp and all was quite.

**And there is chapter 4. She met up with Ezra, talked to Hanna…briefly, and even got to have a sleepover with Spencer. Aria's finding fitting back into her old life a challenge, but give it time I always say. So I have chapter 5 written, I'm working on chapter 6 and hopefully will have that for my beta today. **

**PLEASE continue to REVIEW they help me know what your thoughts and ideas are about the story. If you leave me a review with your ****screen name whether your signed in or not I will be more than happy to reply. :)**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home:**

"I thought you should see this…" He simply stated, lifting a stack of paper before pulling a single sheet from the stack. He placed it at the edge of the desk where Aria could clearly see the D marked in red ink. "It's your second D this week and your writing level has dropped since you've returned." Ezra pointed out, making it clear his puzzled wonderment to her sudden drop in his class.

{PLL}

"I'm sorry if I upset you, but I really am proud of you." Ella broke the silence.

{PLL}

"Hello, I'm Dr. Wren Kingston." The tall Brit drew out, with a charming smile. He saw the way the short brunette turned towards the women in the chair, confused. "Dr. Murphy is away at a seminar so I will be taking over his cases for the day." He explained, taking note of each person in the room.

{PLL}

"I know what you're trying to do." Hanna yelled over the music. "And what's that?" He leaned against the fridge, crossing his arms as his long brown hair covered his eyes. "Don't think you can start pawning off your techno skills here at my house, I can make sure you never come to another Rosewood socialite in your life. Then again, no one invited you in the first place." She remarked.

"How much longer do we have to be here?" Toby asked Spencer, who looked in his direction. She saw in his pretty blue eyes, his discomfort of being around so many people and to be honest she wasn't having much fun herself.

Aria removed her water bottle from her purse and popped the pill into her mouth practically swallowing it down before the water even hit her lips.

"Are you okay, Em?" Aria's voice rose in concern as she watched her friend take another sip. "Just great." Emily pulled her cup away from her lips.

"I have an idea…" Spencer grinned, as the three girls looked at her. They knew the look all too well. "Let's ditch." Spencer smirked.

{PLL}

"I wasn't completely honest with you…" Aria took a deep breath, her eyes still trained on the dying fire. Hanna lifted her head off of Emily's shoulder and Spencer sat up straighter the stick in her hand she had been using to probe the fire with. "I have some…" Aria bit her lip, choosing her words carefully. "Dark skeletons in my closet and they are mostly about the last few years." She explained, glancing up at her friends who were all listening intently.

_**PLEASE REVIEW & I WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**_


	5. Skelton's In The Closet

**A/N: Hello my faithful readers! Wow! 70 Reviews for 4 chapters? I'm ****stunned and so thankful for your continued support! T****hank you to my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya for all your help. Thank you everyone who continues to READ, REVIEW, FOLLOW, AND FAVORITE this story. The wait is over, here is chapter 5. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

******I also have a Twitter account where you can leave me reviews atHeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars. I only own the characters in which I create.**

**Finding Home**

**Chapter Five: Skelton's In The Closet**

❡You let me fall apart without letting go❡

Then you pick up the pieces and you make me whole

I didn't want to escape

From the bricks that I laid down

You are the only one

The only one that sees me

Trusts me and believes me

You are the only one

The only one that knows me

And in the dark you show me

Yeah it's perfectly reckless

Damn you leave me defenseless

❡So break in❡

{Break In by Halestorm}

Aria's eyes were just beginning to droop closed when the bell rang to life, signaling the end of school. With a yawn, Aria gathered her green spiral notebook and science book off her desk and shoved them into her backpack.

With tired bones, she shuffled to her locker, hoping that she would get the chance to pick up a coffee along the way to picking Luc up from daycare with her mom and the dreaded doctor's appointment. It took her three tries to get the lock on her locker to open when a she heard her name called from the crowd of people leaving for the buses.

"Aria," She turned in the direction the voice had come from and she froze, seeing those blue eyes starring at her. "Can you please see me before you leave?" Ezra stood tall, dressed in his blue shirt and dark grey vest. His hand rested on the door handle waiting for a response, but she didn't say a word.

Turning back to her locker, Aria threw her math and English books into her orange backpack before taking her winter coat off the hook and shrugging it on. Slamming her locker door closed, she walked to Ezra's classroom where she waited for the last few students to walk past her before walking in front of Ezra; she could smell his cologne on her way in a mix of scotch and old books.

Aria dropped her school bag by her feet, hearing the loud thud it made in the process, but she didn't care. She was too tired and restless to care. Standing with her hands on her hips, she waited for the door to click shut and for him to reside in his swivel chair behind the desk.

Ezra took the seat and studied her for a moment, wondering what was running through her head. He could read the agitation written across her face and could spot the dark circles under her eyes. The silence in the air grew thick, and Aria's patience was wearing thin.

"You can't keep asking me to stay after like this." Aria rolled her eyes, doing her best to try to stop him from staring at her. She shoved her fists into her winter coat, suddenly wishing she hadn't worn it because the heat radiating from the intensity of his stare was getting to her.

"I thought you should see this…" He simply stated, lifting a stack of paper before pulling a single sheet from the stack. He placed it at the edge of the desk where Aria could clearly see the D marked in red ink. "It's your second D this week and your writing level has dropped since you've returned." Ezra pointed out, making it clear his puzzled wonderment to her sudden drop in his class.

Aria stared at the marking, her cheeks beginning to burn with embarrassment at his revelation to call her out. Removing her hand from her coat, she picked up the paper and held it close to her face. She knew the past few years had her lacking in her schoolwork, but she figured she would be able to slip by.

Ezra continued to wait, wondering what her excuse for this could possibly be. He knew her, and deep down he knew she could do better than this. He couldn't possibly understand how she could go from an A student who loved to write to getting D's and barely knowing how to structure a sentence properly.

"I've been really busy." Aria explained, hoping the answer would drop the topic, but she knew with Ezra it never would. She peeked over the paper in her hands and saw the questioning look on his face. "I did just enrolled halfway through the school year." Aria added, placing the paper back on his desk.

"You love writing," He gestured towards her. "And I know you can do better so-"

"So what?" Aria's voice rose, cutting him off. "You going to make the score go away…" She shook her head, staring him in the eyes, pushing his buttons. "Or have me rewrite the paper? You can't do that." Aria took a step closer to the desk, her feet touching the front.

"No." Ezra raised his voice, but just enough to speak over her. He had never seen her so defensive and over something so trivial as a grade. "I'm going to setup a tutoring session for you." He lowered his voice, nodding towards her.

Aria rolled her eyes, chuckling lightly at the thought of being alone with him and how they would only be repeating history. "You can't tutor me." Aria replied.

"It can be like old times." He smiled, daring to reach for her hand that rested on the desk. He inched his fingers close to hers and touched her pinky, before gazing into her eyes. He wanted to be with her, he wanted to find out why she was always so on edge around him. He wanted to know what he had done to push her away.

"No." Aria took a step back, shoving her hand back into her pocket. Her eyes grew misty at his words. She loved him, she did, but being near him here was bad enough. "Meet me at my place; we can start with the story, "All I Want To Do".

"No." She clenched her jaw. "We can't." She added, turning away. "I don't…" She let her shoulders drop, taking a shaky breathe. "Want to go down that road again. I'm not going to your apartment." She looked at him, seeing him swallow the rejection.

"Why not?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders in confusion.

"Because I don't-"

He knew she was going to give him an excuse that wouldn't amount to much so he cut her off, not caring that he had just asked her to elaborate.

"We can go to the library then." If her fear was of being alone with him, maybe this would help her, he thought. The more he thought about it the more he liked the idea more. "Meet me there on Saturday at noon." He directed towards her.

Aria opened her mouth to speak, trying to gather her emotions but he wasn't giving her much time to process his questions let alone time to agree or disagree about this meeting. Her head was already foggy from the lack of sleep and now his firing of questions and thoughts had her sleep deprivation on over drive and she was mad.

"I don't want you tutoring me!" She shouted, not caring that teachers might here. Her eyes grew cold as she stared him down, her breathing heavy and her hidden fists turning white.

"Aria?" Ezra sucked in a deep breath, taken aback by her reaction. "What is going on?" He lowered his voice, watching as she turned away, again.

Every time he asked her that question she would look away, and he knew there was something she wasn't tell him. He had been trying to process why she had left and why she had returned from the moment she had walked back into his life, but he was still nowhere close to the truth.

They had once shared a secret so dark they had nothing but each other to keep it all together and now she was barley looking him in the eyes. Seeing her this way broke his heart.

"You left without a word and now you won't talk to me." He tired to draw her attention towards him again, by standing to his feet and walking around the desk so he stood next to her.

Aria could see out of the corner of her eyes the slow movements he made and once beside her she could feel his touch on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," She breathed out. "I couldn't tell you." Aria shook her head. "I can't tell you." She sniffled, begging the tears not to fall as she finally dared to stare at him.

"Do you love me?" Ezra's voice tightened. He wasn't sure where the question had come from he just needed to know the truth.

"Of course I did." Aria furrowed her eyes together, her mouth gapping open like a fish out of water. She watched his head drop and saw the pain written on his face.

"Did…" Ezra huffed. "I guess…" He sighed, letting his hand fall away from her shoulder. "I guess things have changed." He admitted, biting his tongue to hide the hurt.

"Ezra," Aria spoke softly. "I do…" She gathered his hands in hers' feeling the way they molded together. "I just…" She tried to figure-out what to say. "Please…" She begged. "Not now…" She pleaded with him not to ask her more questions.

Ezra could see the despair in her eyes and rubbed the smooth skin of her hands around his. "At least tell me what I did?" He begged back. "Tell me…" He swallowed. "And I will leave you alone." He finished.

"Don't make me do this…" Aria rolled her eyes, letting going of his hands. She took a step away from him, colliding into a desk, hearing the movement squeak against the tile floor.

"Then…" He decided. "Will you please let me help you?" He slowly took a step closer to her, happy when she didn't back up. "I miss you," He whispered. Aria bit her tongue as her knees began to grow weak with the words he spoke. She again felt the tears welling up in her eyes, as she looked everywhere but at him.

It was outside the classroom door that she spotted her mom starring at them. Ezra's back was to her, but she could clearly see the look on Aria's face before she headed down the hall.

"I do still care for you and I'm not going to give up on you, even if that means just tutoring you." Ezra continued, wanting Aria to hear him out.

Aria's head was cloudy she needed time to think. Taking a deep breath Aria stepped away from Ezra and walked to her backpack on the floor.

"I have to go," Aria sniffled, bending down and swinging the bag on her back, feeling the heavy weight it carried. Ezra closed his eyes, his heart breaking more at his declaration going unacknowledged. He turned around and watched as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "My mom's waiting for me." She simply stated and backtracked towards the door, leaving the discussion open-ended.

{EZRIA}

Aria pushed the big heavy doors to the school open, not expecting the rush of cold air that hit her face. She took the steps in twos as she quickly made her way to the car, one of the only in the parking lot.

Swinging her backpack off of her back as she opened the passenger side door, she could see the steely look on her mom's face as she drummed her fingers against the steering wheel waiting for her. Aria pushed her bag to the floor, making room for her feet as she slipped inside and closed the door.

"Sorry, it won't happen again." Aria apologized, knowing they were now running late for picking up Luca and heading to the doctor's. Aria buckled her seatbelt as she waited for her mom to say something, but all she got was the sound of the heater running hot air through the vents.

"What did he want?" Ella finally spoke up, not evening turning towards Aria.

"Nothing…" Aria shook her head, looking out the window.

"Aria?" Ella remarked, their eyes meeting.

"What?" Aria questioned, dodging her mother's steely look as she shrugged her shoulders. "He offered me a tutoring session since my grades are slipping." Aria fixed the heat vent on her side of car so it wasn't blowing directly on her face. "Don't worry I turned him down." Aria detailed.

"Good." Ella nodded. She backed out of the parking spot and headed towards the exit, as the inside of the car remained silent.

She thought about what Aria had just said about her grades slipping. She knew coming back would be hard, but she didn't want Aria reliving the past few years of her high school trying to make up for the lost work.

"If you think you need a tutor I can always help you." She offered, glancing at her daughter who rolled her eyes and returned her gaze out the window.

"I'll just ask Spencer since we have class together." Aria sighed.

"Okay," Ella stopped at a red light, giving her the chance to look at Aria closely. "What's wrong?" Ella examined, knowing something was bothering her daughter. She hoped it didn't have to do with anything Ezra had said to Aria in the classroom, knowing how easily Aria fell for his charm.

"I just don't like lying to everyone." Aria looked down at her backpack. "Someone is eventually going to see me with Luc." Aria detailed.

Ella was about to speak when Aria went on further, her voice angry, hurt, and confused. Still she listened closely as she drove down the streets of Rosewood.

"Emily and Spencer already have seen me with Luc and I had to tell them I was babysitting." Aria spat the words, her throat tightening at the thought of lying to her friends about the most important person in her life.

"I know it's not the perfect situation." Ella expressed, hearing the angry sigh her daughter let out, but hoped she would hear her out. "But I'm trying to give you a normal life." Ella explained. "You knew coming back would be difficult." She recalled the conversation in the hospital room. "Do you want to be known as the teen mom?" Ella tried to talk sense into Aria who remained quite.

"I am a teen mom." Aria pointed to herself, turning towards Ella. Ella glanced her way, seeing the pain on her daughter's face.

"I guess…" Ella licked her lips, in thought, looking back to the road. "We can tell people it was someone from Iceland." Ella hated the idea, but it would be closer to the truth.

Aria couldn't believe what her mom was saying. Did she really hate Ezra that much? She recalled the pain on his face as she stated that she did love him once and couldn't bear the thought of him believing she had been with someone else.

"I would rather say Luc is Ezra's then have him look at me like he meant nothing to me." Aria's voice cracked.

"Out of the question." Ella quickly shot back.

"But-"

"Aria, no." Ella raised her voice, turning towards Aria, watched as she closed her mouth shut and slumped against her seat.

Ella pulled up to the front of the daycare and parked the car. She turned the car's engine off and sighed as she turned to Aria who had tears brimming her eyes.

"It would only hurt everyone." Ella softly spoke, reaching for Aria's hand, but she pulled away. "Maybe when you're done with school or when Luc's older." Ella shook her head, finally giving in.

She was never going to win this fight, Aria knew that. Unbuckling her seatbelt she pushed the car door open and got out.

"Whatever." Aria grumbled, slamming the door and stalking off towards the door to pick up Luca.

{EZRIA}

The waiting room in the doctor's office was rather quite, not too many people were waiting which made the tension between Aria and Ella seemed even worse than it was. Luca sat upon Aria's lap, playing her with copy of All I Want To Do she had taken out of her backpack, not wanting to say a word to her mom at the moment.

Ella knew Aria would freeze her out like this, she was always so stubborn, but ever since she had picked her and Luca up from the hospital she was even worse when angry. Ella sighed, tossing the junk magazine back onto the table as she shifted in her seat.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, but I really am proud of you." Ella broke the silence. Aria just swallowed her tongue, still not saying anything as she played with the velcro on his Luc's shoe. "You are great with Luc." Ella smiled, touching Luc's hair gently, as he looked up at her and smiled.

"Thanks," Aria nodded, still not turning to her mom. "I appreciate it." Aria added.

The tension had faded slightly, but it was still present as the two became quite again. The only sound in the room was the random coughing of the lady across the room and the telephone ringing behind the glass of the reception desk.

"I just…" Aria spoke, unsure of what she really wanted to say. She was always better with writing down her feelings rather than expressing them out loud. "It just doesn't seem fair." Aria secured Luc on her lap so he wouldn't slip against her winter coat.

"Nothing is ever fair," Ella began, watching as Aria just stared at Luc. "And the older you get the more you will realize that." Ella explained the harsh reality.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Aria glanced at her mom, a weak smile on her face.

Ella pulled Aria close to her, squeezing her gently as she spoke. "I understand why you did it." Ella admitted. "Let's just focus on making sure you and Luc are healthy." Ella declared and Aria nodded.

"I really don't need to be looked at." Aria tried again to get out of this. "You know we can just have them look at Luc." Aria excused.

"I think it would still be good for you." Ella chided, hoping this wouldn't start another argument.

Aria was about to rebuttable when the door leading to the back opened and a women in pink scrubs stood against it. The women in the scrubs held a clipboard to her eyes before staring out at the few people in the room.

"Aria and Luca Montgomery?" She smiled.

Aria hoped everything would go smoothly as she took a deep breath. She placed Luca on his feet before taking her schoolbook out of his hands and stood too. Ella followed behind, grabbing Luc's coat as they headed to the back.

{EZRIA}

The patient room was small, leaving little room as Ella sat in the chair next to the countertop where medical supplies and a sink were located. Aria took her place next to Luc who sat on the leather exam table covered by a layer of thin paper, which Luca was trying to rip apart.

The wait wasn't nearly as long as it had been in the shelter's clinic, but for Aria she wished it had been so she could prepare herself for any unnecessary topics that might come up. She really didn't want to be there.

A knock at the door, had Aria's eyes drawn to attention, her posture straightening as the door opened.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Wren Kingston." The tall Brit drew out, with a charming smile. He saw the way the short brunette turned towards the women in the chair, confused. "Dr. Murphy is away at a seminar so I will be taking over his cases for the day." He explained, taking note of each person in the room.

"Hi, I'm Aria." Aria held out her hand. "And this is Luc." Aria patted Luca on the back, but he wasn't too interested at the new person in the room.

"Hello. I'm Ella, Aria's mother." Ella spoke up, extending her hand with a smile.

"Nice to meet you." He leaned over to acknowledge her.

Moving to stand beside the exam table, Dr. Kingston opened the manila folder marked Luca Montgomery, skimming over the information he had just read previously outside in the hallway. "Now," He cleared his throat. "I read Luc's file and it says that he has Cystic Fibrosis?" He glanced up to get a confirmation and nodded when Aria clarified.

"Yeah, he has a hard time breathing at times and gets sick easily." Aria explained. "Colds and fevers, that sorta thing." Aria turned back to Luca. She knew she didn't need to go into all the details, but she was nervous.

"Okay," Dr. Kingston closed the file and set it on the counter beside Ella. Dr. Kingston removed his stethoscope from around his neck. "Why don't we take a listen to his lungs and we can go from there." He stated, placing the earpiece into his ears.

"All right." Aria took a deep breath, moving behind Luc so the doctor could be closer, but held his hand so he wouldn't get scared.

"Luc, you see this?" Dr. Kingston held the shiny end of the instrument for Luca to see. Luca immediately went for the object, but Dr. Kingston held it from his grasp. "This is going to let me listen to your lungs." He explained to the little boy, he didn't want to scare him. "It maybe a little cold." He spoke gently, as he placed the metal against Luca's back.

"Is that cold buddy?" Aria whispered, laughing under her breath as Luca shivered.

"Cold." Luca replied.

"Now Luc, can you take a deep breath. Like this?" Dr. Kingston demonstrated, exaggerating the movements and then listened closely as Luca did the same. "Good job, you're being such a big boy." He fixed Luca's shirt where he had moved it to get a better listen to his lungs and placed his stethoscope back around his neck. "I bet your mom will give you a lollypop when were done." Dr. Kingston laughed, shooting Aria smile who did the same.

"Aren't doctors supposed to refrain children from having sugar?" Ella sarcastically remarked.

"Nah, a little sugar never harmed anyone." Dr. Kingston shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. He walked over to the counter where he had earlier placed the file and flipped to a clean page with notebook lines. "Well the good news is that his developmental growth stages are progressing properly." He jotted down on the paper. "He is the perfect height and weight for a boy his age." Dr. Kingston gestured towards Luc with his pen still in hand.

Aria and Ella both nodded, thankful to hear Luca was healthy other than his CF problem. Aria gave a sigh of relief; she had always made sure Luc was taken care of as best as he could be despite their living conditions.

"Everything appears to be good for now." Dr. Kingston closed the file and leaned against the counter as he stared at the little curly haired boy. "His lungs are clear for the most part, although he does have a stuffy nose." Dr. Kingston added. "Just give him children's medicine and it should knock it out." He advised.

"We will pick some up on the way home." Ella confirmed.

"I would also…" Dr. Kingston clicked his pen back on and removed his scripts pad from his pocket. "Like to prescribe an inhaler." He scribbled. "Just for emergency purposes to be on the safe side." He tore the paper from the pad and handed it to Ella who reached for it.

"Okay, sounds great." Aria stepped closer to Luca and played with his curls, kissing his head gently. Dr. Kingston stood straighter, sticking his hands into his pockets as he decided to get the second exam on the way.

"So Aria, if you would like your mom to take Luc out to the waiting room while I exam you that would probably be best." He made the motion for her to hand Luc over to her mom.

"Umm…" Aria licked her lips. "Yeah." She weakly smiled, trying to hide her nerves.

"It was nice meeting you." Ella smiled, shaking Dr. Kingston's hand as she stood.

"Nice meeting you too. Bye Luc." Dr. Kingston laughed as Luc waved.

"I will see you in a little bit." Aria kissed Luca's hand before waving to him as he left the room.

Dr. Kingston could tell Aria was nervous by the way she jumped up on the exam table and began to bounce her knee as he washed his hands and flipped open her medical chart.

"So is Luc your only son?" He asked, turning towards Aria as he dried his hands on a paper towel.

"Yeah," Aria nodded. "I had him when I was sixteen." Aria added further, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"He's a bright little boy." He praised her for how well Luca's doing, he doubted she heard that much.

"Thanks." Aria grinned, actually feeling uplifted. She wasn't used to getting complimented on her child raising skills.

"Okay," Dr. Kingston just smiled, but on the inside he was surprised she was so small and yet seemed so mature to be rising a two year old.

"Let's get the ball rolling." He removed a tongue depressor from one of the glass jars on the shelf and saw the way Aria squirmed on the table. "Nothing dangerous, just open your mouth wide for me and say Ahh…" He stepped in front of her.

"Ahh…" Aria did as instructed as he placed the wood on her tongue.

"Good." Dr. Kingston stepped back and threw the stick in the trash. "Are you living with your mom or is Luc's father around?" He questioned, wanting to mark down the details that could have an impact on her health in anyway.

"I'm staying with my mom, and no." Aria said, watching the doctor closely as he scribbled something down on her file. "Why?" Aria asked.

"Oh, we just like to have it on file. Home address that sort of thing." He glanced up at her and clicked his pen as he set the file back on the counter and moved towards her again. "Can you lie on your back for me; I'm going to check your stomach muscles." He explained, he knew some girls were apprehensive about male doctors; he just wanted her to feel safe.

"I'm very ticklish…" Aria warned as she lay back on the table, her head hitting the paper covered pillow as Dr. Kingston approached.

"Don't worry…" Dr. Kingston laughed. "I've never been kicked before." He joked. As he proceeded to do his exam, he could see Aria was trying desperately not to laugh so he figured a little conversation would help. "It says in your file that you were living in a shelter a month ago?" Dr. Kingston watched, as her eyes grew wide with his knowledge.

"Um…yeah." Aria replied, letting out a laugh.

"Okay, you can sit up." Dr. Kingston held her hand as Aria pulled herself up into a sitting position, fixing her hair into a ponytail. "I'm going to call in a nurse to take a blood sample, just to have it on record." He said as he walked over to the counter and removed the round chair on wheels out from under counter and sat down. He saw the anxious look on Aria's face. "It won't be more than a pinch, I promise." He reassured her.

"I really don't like needles." Aria gulped back her fear, but it really wasn't the needles or the blood she was afraid of. It was the prospect of what they might find in her blood that had her worried.

"It's just to have on file, with your apparent history I would like to double check you're healthy on all levels." He explained, picking up her file and scribbling down the note of blood-work. "You never know what you can pick up out there." He motioned towards the door.

"I-I understand." Aria whispered.

"Just a few more questions." Dr. Kingston looked up from the file and stared into Aria's eyes, wanting her complete attention. "Have you had any changed recently as far as appetite or tiredness?" It was important he knew because of her history of living on the streets, with little food and sleep it could be extremely dangerous to her health.

"Umm…" Aria sighed, shrugging her shoulder. To be honest, she had been rather tired, but that was usual with Luc and her stomach had been queasy she found if she ate too fast. "Besides the fact that I'm actually eating three meals a day and have a toddler who is afraid of the dark, I'd say I'm fine." Aria ran a hand through her hair, catching herself in a yawn at that moment.

Dr. Kingston couldn't help but laugh as he wrote that down on her chart. "I must be honest with you, you are extremely under weight for a teen your age. I would recommend you eating plenty of small, but very high protein meals and to drink milk to make your bones stronger." He advised, noting her lack of muscle and very thin stature. "I also want to extend the serious health risks of drinking and drugs and what they could do to a body your size."

"I don't drink," Aria shook her head, furrowing her face in disgust. She had seen what alcohol does to kids her age, sure she had done some foolish things on the streets, but she vowed never to let herself get that way again. "And Rosewood really isn't the druggy town." Aria added, trying to be as serious as possible.

Dr. Kingston nodded his understanding, surprised by how mature she appeared to be. She was only a child, raising a child herself.

"And in good humor, buy Luc a nightlight at the drugstore; it will help with those sleepless nights." Dr. Kingston suggested, handing her a script sheet with the small note to pick one up.

Handing her the piece of paper, he spotted the book, All I Want To Do on the chair where Aria's mom had been seated earlier. The cover was bent back slightly, revealing the owners name was actually Melissa Hastings.

"Thanks. I'll pick one up." Aria laughed, taking the note.

"No problem, anything for a friend of Spencer Hastings." Dr. Kingston shook Aria's hand, her arm suddenly frozen at the mention of her friend.

"Sorry… I just noticed you have her sister's book and I figured you knew her. I bought Melissa that book." He cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh…" Aria laughed under her breath and let her hand fall to her side.

"So if there's nothing else then I guess you're free to go after the nurse comes in." Dr. Kingston headed towards the door. "I would like to see Luc every other month for a check-up. CF can be maintained by treatment, but with him being so small I think it would be best to monitor this very closely." Dr. Kingston advised.

"I will, thank you." Aria agreed. The doctor was just turning the door handle when a thought crossed Aria's mind. "Oh, um…" She caught his attention. "If you run into Spencer or her family can you not tell them about my-situation?" Aria lowered her voice. "I mean, no one really knows about Luc and-" Aria rambled.

"Say no more," Dr. Kingston cut her off. "Doctor patient confidentiality. Have a good day." He placed a hand to his chest in scouts honor, and then gave a half wave goodbye as he left to get a nurse for the final part of Aria's exam.

{EZRIA}

The song Hands of Time by Rachel Diggs was currently blasting through the speaker system Noel Khan had brought with him to the party, along with the alcohol currently being ingested by the thirty or more kids dancing and goofing off in the Marin house.

"Sean, come on you told me we could dance like twenty minutes ago." Hanna, the socialite of the dance tried to get her boyfriends attention. Sitting on the counter top across from his friend Noel the two ignored Hanna and continued their game which consisted of who could ever bring up the missing girl Ali's name in different contexts had to take a drink.

"Chill Hanna, we have all night." Sean wiped his mouth and leaned down to kiss her, leaving beer breath surrounding Hanna's glossed mouth as she shooed away the air.

"Okay, here's another one… I heard the town of Ravenswood is so haunted, Ali's probably living amongst the dead there."

"Roaming the streets…" Sean added, laughing.

Noel too joined in the laughter, sending his red solo cup to the floor, but not before spilling the remainder of the contents onto Hanna's dress.

"Noel!" Hanna shouted, backing up as she stared in shock at her brand new red ruffle dress, which now smelt of booze.

"It will wash out, Prom Queen." Noel waved it off and refilled another cup.

Standing beside Noel, where the drinks were lined in all different glass bottles Emily stood in her jeans, t-shirt and jean jacket, her hair pulled back in a ponytail as she poured herself another drink. She lost count after the third when the jocks started picking on Ali; she knew this would be a long night. Sure people knew her feelings towards her friend, but once they started drinking she never knew what they were going to say.

The new kid who slipped into the crowd snuck one of the towels off the oven handle, handing it to the longhaired blonde who was trying to get the residue beer out of her dress.

"I think you might need this." He smiled, catching a glimpse of an annoyed smirk on her face between the flashing strobe lights and her hair as she rubbed the front of her dress.

"I know what you're trying to do." Hanna yelled over the music.

"And what's that?" He leaned against the fridge, crossing his arms as his long brown hair covered his eyes.

"Don't think you can start pawning off your techno skills here at my house, I can make sure you never come to another Rosewood socialite in your life. Then again, no one invited you in the first place." She remarked.

"Name's Caleb by the way." He held out his hand, ignoring her snarky domineer. "I thought fancy Rosewood girls like you knew how to say thank you?" He smirked back.

Hanna gave a roll of her eyes and shook his hand, despite knowing exactly what he wanted from her. What they all wanted.

"First of all…you don't know me. Second of all…you don't know." She threw the towel across the room, landing in the sink.

"No…" He leaned in close to her ear; she could feel his hot breath on her skin. "You don't know yourself." He whispered, sending a chill down her spine.

He pulled away and she recovered quickly from his statement, shaking her head lightly and looked him in the eyes. "Thanks." She added, fixing her hair.

"Anytime…" He smiled, and moved around her so he could walk towards the living room area, nearly bumping into a couple standing in the corner.

Spencer and Toby stood against the mantel of Hanna's house where framed photos of Hanna and little trinkets sat shaking to the beat of the music. The two stood observing their peers dancing and drinking around them.

"How much longer do we have to be here?" Toby asked Spencer, who looked in his direction. She saw in his pretty blue eyes, his discomfort of being around so many people and to be honest she wasn't having much fun herself. Spencer fixed the brown leather belt around her waist and smoothened down her purple flower pattern dress, giving him a small smile.

"Let me use the bathroom real quick and we can leave." She shouted, setting her cup down on the mantel and kissing Toby on the lips.

Spencer rounded the corner, her brown boots nearly stepping on the small brunette who was sitting on the steps starting at her cell phone.

"Sorry…" Aria moved to the side, as Spencer gave her a friendly smile and walked up the second floor. Aria went back to the cell phone in her hand, watching the minutes slowly tick by. It was close to ten o'clock and Aria wasn't having much fun. She had experienced too many drunken get togethers over the past few years she was ready for a clean slate.

Still tired from her full day of school, doctor's appointment, studying, taking care of Luca and lack of sleep from the night before Aria dug into her pocket and found the baggie she was looking for. She took one of the small white pills out of the plastic and held it in the palm of her hand, torn between whether to take it or not. She remembered what Dr. Kingston had said earlier, but then again it was one pill and she had been taking them for so long they barely affected her anymore.

Aria removed her water bottle from her purse and popped the pill into her mouth practically swallowing it down before the water even hit her lips. She felt regret for a split second, but staring at the people around her she figured she wasn't as bad off as they were and she had been through worse then any of them could imagine.

Aria stood to her feet, stepping through the crowd of people and towards the back porch. Outside, it was at least somewhat quitter. She could still feel the base under her shoes, but the shouts and blaring music weren't as bad.

Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, she her dialed her home number and plugged her other ear so she could hear the person on the other line. Aria was just about to speak when she realized it was the answering machine. She waited the few seconds and decided to leave a message.

"Hey Mom, I just wanted to call and check on Luc. Apparently your busy, just call me when you get this, bye." She spoke quickly and hit end. Holding the phone to her chest, Aria closed her eyes and let her head fall against the house behind her. She took a deep breath, letting the cool air fill her senses as she tried to wake up.

The sound of the door opening beside her made her jump and she turned to see Hanna in her designer red dress with some stain on it followed by Emily who was holding a drink in her hand.

"This party is so lame…" Hanna rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Says the girl throwing the party." Emily slurred, taking another sip of her drink.

"I didn't want this…" Hanna dug her heel into the pavement, shaking her head. "Mona and Sean set this up and Sean's just being a complete jerk right now." Hanna turned back to the house and spotted Sean still sitting on the counter across from Noel. She tried to spy on the new guy with long hair, and bad boy cred who was sneaking around, but she couldn't find him. "Techno boy won't stop hustling people for his services. I had to tell him to bug off like five times tonight." Hanna complained.

"Whose Techno boy?" Aria questioned Hanna, who just waved her off.

"Hanna's latest mystery guy." Emily smirked into her cup, nudging her friend.

"How many drinks have you had?" Hanna asked, tilting her head to stare at Emily who shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you okay, Em?" Aria's voice rose in concern as she watched her friend take another sip.

"Just great." Emily pulled her cup away from her lips. "It helps the party seem more entertaining." She drawled on, turning around so she could lean against the house like Aria.

Aria moved over a little to give Emily room when the sound of a car door closing caught their ears. The headlights of the old brown pickup turned on and they heard the engine starting. The driver's face was an outline, but to Hanna and Emily they knew it was Toby's truck.

"Looks like the lovebirds are leaving." Hanna gestured towards Spencer who was standing outside the car, removing her heels.

Spencer eyed her former three best friends congregated in the corner. Opening the passenger side door, Spencer replaced her heels for the spare flats she had brought with her saying something to Toby before closing the door and walking towards the group.

"Hey," Spencer approached, with a smile. "Great party, but this really isn't Toby's crowd so were going to go." Spencer explained, tucking her dark drown hair behind her ear as the wind started to blow.

Aria gave a small laugh as the ironic thought crossed her mind. She placed her thumbs in her back pockets of her jeans as she leaned her foot against Hanna's house.

"Remember when we use to just stay at Spencer's lake house on nights like this? Just the five of us." Aria recalled, smiling, forgetting that their fifth member was no longer with them.

Silence filled the air, the only sound surrounding the circle of girls was the music and occasional shout of someone inside. The girls looked to the ground, unsure of just what to say to that comment. Emily took another sip of her drink before something popped into her head.

"Well that hasn't happened since you and Ali left." Her voice smudge with resentment, but Aria doubted she even knew what she was saying.

"Okay, you're done." Hanna sighed, fed up with the conversation. The last thing she needed was a cat-fight starting between her former friends. Taking the red cup from Emily's grasp, Hanna tossed the liquid into the bushes and let the cup fall to their feet.

"Hey!" Emily whined, her hand still in place where the cup had been moments ago, shocked at her former friend's behavior.

In the meantime, a plan was forming in Spencer's mind. She wasn't ready to leave these girls; she recalled the memories too and wished they could reunite.

"I have an idea…" Spencer grinned, as the three girls looked at her. They knew the look all too well. "Let's ditch." Spencer smirked.

"You want me to leave my own party?" Hanna pointed herself, nodding towards Spencer like she was crazy.

Hanna glanced inside the house, seeing Sean goofing off. Her mind was made up. "I'm driving…let's go." Hanna walked through the circle and towards Emily's car.

{EZRIA}

Aria followed second into the lake house, Emily and Spencer behind her. Finding the that the lamp on the stand beside the couch still worked, it shed a dim light on the small space. They could clearly tell no one had been there in a while considering the amount of dust gathered on the plaid curtains hanging on the windows. The scenic mountain picture above the mantel reminded Aria of those years before when she had been there for the summer with her friends.

"Wow, this place hasn't changed." Aria spun around in the middle of the living room, taking in the space.

The kitchen connected to the living room and the stairs beside the door led up to the second floor where three bedrooms and plus two bathrooms were. Beside the mirror hanging on the wall in the back of the living room was the door leading out to the fire pit where the girls had spent countless hours roasting marshmallows in bikinis.

"Just be careful." Spencer said, making sure the door was locked behind them. "If my parents find out were up here I will be in so much trouble." She placed her key back in her purse before laying it on the couch.

"Oh, don't worry, Spence." Emily laughed, removing her jean jacket and tossing it beside Spencer's bag. "All were going to do is light a fire in the back and talk." She detailed.

"Do you think there's any food? I'm starved." Hanna removed her killer heels and shuffled to the kitchen.

"And drinks?" Emily shouted to Hanna, whose head was currently in the fridge in search of anything edible.

"There should be sodas in the fridge." Spencer replied, going into the kitchen to help Hanna.

Aria took this as a chance to explore the downstairs area of the house, recognizing the framed photos and bookshelf in the corner. She took her old copy of To Kill A Mockingbird off the second shelf and tore back the cover, seeing her handwriting. Flipping through the pages, they were layered in dust, but the she smiled at the memories she had the summer she had brought it with her.

"Aria," She turned around upon hearing her name. "You want to help me find some blankets for the deck?" Spencer waved to her on the first few steps to the second floor.

"Sure." Aria replaced the book back on the shelf. Emily was browsing through her phone, reminding Aria that she should probably call her mom before she forgot. "Um…I need to make a phone call real quick." Aria motioned towards the back door.

"Okay." Spencer nodded, deciding to venture up the second floor in search of the blankets on her own.

Aria walked out onto the deck where the fire pit was surrounded by four long logs for sitting. She dug into her pocket for her mom's cell phone and saw she had a missed text message from her mom around midnight telling her she was going off to bed. Biting her lower lip, Aria decided it would still be the responsible thing to call in case. Typing in her home number, Aria got the answering machine and left a message.

"Hi Mom, I'm with the girls," Aria stated, scratching her head. "We decided to ditch the party and go hang out but, I should be back tomorrow morning. I hate the thought of not seeing Luc, but I figured he's asleep already." Aria let a small laugh escape her lips as she looked out at the scenery around her. "I'm probably going to get cut off here anyways." She laughed again. "Just um…" Aria paused. "Tell him goodnight. Bye." She hung up.

The door opened just as Aria was placing her phone back into her pocket. The moon giving her a good view of Emily standing in the doorway, her hair down around her shoulders instead of up in the ponytail like it had been earlier.

"Was that your mom?" Emily asked, stepping towards the fire pit and placing a few fresh logs into the center, leaning the rest against the base of the stone circle.

"Yep," Aria nodded. "Just checking in." She smiled.

'I got some firewood and found Mrs. And Mr. Hastings' stash of drinks in the cabinet." She Emily smirked, shaking the bottle in her hand.

"Hey," Spencer stepped outside, practically covered from the waist up with blankets and pillows. "Give me a hand with these pillows and blankets will you." Spencer stumbled towards the girls, almost tripping over one of the logs.

Aria took the pillows off the top of the pile as Spencer and Emily laid out the blankets, setting one by each of the logs for sitting. "Hanna's going to start the fire when she's done getting the food." Spencer sighed, bending over to place the last blanket down on the ground. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as Hanna emerged from the house.

"Okay, I have popcorn in the microwave as I speak, but here are some marshmallows." Hanna threw the bag to Emily who took a seat on one of the logs and opened the plastic bag, already eating.

The microwave could be heard beeping inside signaling the popcorn was done. Spencer stepped around the blankets and pillows towards the door.

"I'm going to grab the lighter and the popcorn." She stated, entering the house.

Aria took a seat on the log closest to her, across from Emily who set the bag of marshmallows down on the ground. Looking out at the backdrop, Aria could make out the mountain peeks and pine trees. Living in the city for so long she forgot stars even existed as she spotted the big dipper.

"I love the view out here." Aria stated, taking in a deep breath smelling the pine. "It's so different then the city." She recalled, hearing an owl hooting in the woods.

"I thought Iceland was a small area? Emily questioned, fixing her pillow under her legs and placing her blanket around her shoulders.

Aria hadn't realized her mistake until Emily had said something. She opened her mouth, hoping something would come to her when footsteps approached them.

"I got the lighter, Han." Spencer raised her voice, handing it off. "Please don't burn yourself." She replied, her voice serious.

"Gee thanks," Hanna rolled her eyes. "It was one time Spence." Hanna bent down to the fire pit and held the lighter to the base of the wood until it ignited.

"So is this going to be game time or just catch up?" Emily glanced between her friends once they were all situated on seats. Aria sat between Spencer and Hanna with Emily across. "Drink?" She held the bottle up for her friends to see.

"No thanks." Aria declined. "I don't drink. I will just stick a soda." She reached across Hanna who had the cans beside her.

"I'm good too." Spencer replied, handing the popcorn bowl across Aria's head and over to Hanna.

"I'll take a little." Hanna replied. Once Emily had passed the bottle and Hanna poured a little into her soda can she answered Emily's pervious question. "Both. I want to hear all about Iceland." She nudged Aria in the ribs. "Any cute boys?" She laughed.

Aria smirked and laughed under her breath. She was getting used to Hanna's sense of humor. She looked down at her feet; although she hadn't really been in Iceland she had met a nice guy on the streets. Jeremy, he had helped her in Philly, although they were strictly friends.

"Just friends." Aria replied, lifting her head. "I didn't really have time for a social life." Aria shrugged her shoulders.

"See Hanna," Spencer took a sip of her soda. "Some people care about their grades." Hanna rolled her eyes at her friend's comment.

"I'm just happy your back." Emily butted in. All four girls nodded in agreement, this felt right. They were a member short, but together they still felt connected, maybe even stronger knowing how it felt being pulled away and brought back together again.

"To being back." Hanna raised her can in the air.

"To being back." They all toasted.

{EZRIA}

The fire was slowly starting to die, the crackling sound and smoky smell making the girls sleepy as the night wore on. Aria was awake though, wide-awake, staring into the flames.

She was used to staying up all night, the streets weren't the safest place and she had often used the pills she had taken earlier to help her keep watch over Luc. She thought about Luca, and how he was acting more and more like Ezra every day. She just wished she could be with him more, to see the changes happen. She loved school, but she missed seeing Luca.

Aria looked around her, surrounded by her friends who were drifting off to sleep although no one had hit full rest yet. They had talked for more than three hours, and still she felt like there was a part of her she wanted them to get to know. She had played the part of the girl who had spent the last few years in Iceland, but that wasn't who she was.

She hated lying to her friends, and like Ali always said: friends share their secrets. She wanted to be close to them again, she wanted their full friendship and there was only one way she could gain it. She had to tell the truth.

"I wasn't completely honest with you…" Aria took a deep breath, her eyes still trained on the dying fire. Hanna lifted her head off of Emily's shoulder and Spencer sat up straighter the stick in her hand she had been using to probe the fire with. "I have some…" Aria bit her lip, choosing her words carefully. "Dark skeletons in my closet and they are mostly about the last few years." She explained, glancing up at her friends who were all listening intently.

"When you were away at the boarding school?" Emily clarified, staring at Aria with confused eyes.

Aria nodded her head. "I was never at boarding school in Iceland." She began. "My parents…" Aria let a small laugh escape her lips. "Made that up." She let that hang in the air for a few seconds.

When Aria didn't continue Spencer leaned forward, her mind clearly trying to piece together Aria's few word sentences in the glow of the fire. "And why would they do that?" She questioned Aria to go on.

There was no going back now, she needed to tell her friends, she needed to tell them the truth and hope they would have her back. Aria looked to her lap, playing with the blanket draped around her petite form. "Because my dad didn't want it getting out that," Aria took another deep breath and held it. "I have a son." She released the breath, her eyes still trained down.

"You have a kid?" Hanna all but shouted, her hair bouncing as she sat up straighter, her eyes wide.

All Aria could do was nod, she was ready for the questions to start flying towards her. She just wasn't prepared for them to come all at once.

"The little boy at the brew?" Emily recalled.

"Where were you all this time?" Spencer followed shortly after.

Aria held her hands up for her friends to give her a chance to respond. Her three friends closed their mouths as she let her hands fall back to her lap. "Yes, the little boy from the Brew. His name is Luca." Aria smiled. It took her a few minutes to gather the courage to state this next part.

She was used to the stares and opinions of strangers. Her street family was just like her so she was used to them speaking their minds, but this was her friend's from before. How would they begin to believe what she went through out there?

"I was um…" She paused, swallowing her breath. "I was living in shelters in Philly." Aria looked to her hands, which were fisting the blanket.

"You were homeless?" Hanna blurted out.

"Hanna." Emily hit her on the arm, glaring at the blonde.

"No, it's okay." Aria was quick to correct her friends. "Yes, Hanna." Aria looked at her. "I was homeless." She restated.

"You were in Philly the whole time?" Hanna couldn't believe her ears. For the past few years she stayed up late wondering what had happened to her friends and how their group had slowly grown apart. She dreamt about where they where and how they were giving each girl a life's story, but never had she given that story to Aria.

"Well I obviously wasn't going to stay in Rosewood." Aria changed positions on her log chair, trying to wake her sleeping feet. "Brookhaven was too close to home." Aria licked her lips. "I did make it to Anderson Country once." Aria smiled at the memory.

Spencer shook her head; Toby had been there a few times over the years working on construction. She had been right in his backyard and she never even knew it.

"My grandma lives there, but after Luc was born I didn't want my parents finding out so I left." Aria tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Ravenswood was out of the question," Aria rolled her eyes, remembering all the wacky stories she had heard about the small town. "So I was stuck in between." Aria shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal. "Philly it was." She nodded in confirmation.

"Why didn't you just come to stay with me or one of us?" Emily asked, her voice serious and somewhat hurt.

"My dad was going to make me give Luc up so I had no choice but to run." Aria countered back. "No one can find out who Luc's father is." Aria spoke quickly, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Hanna asked.

"Hanna, don't pry." Emily warned.

Aria sat quite, she knew telling her friend's about Luc was one thing, but telling them about Luc's father was a whole new one. This secret was the one that held her captive inside, it was the one thing she never felt ashamed of, but she knew the shame she would feel if he ever got in trouble because of her. "If this ever got out he would be in big trouble…" Aria closed her eyes, shaking her head no.

"We've known each other for years… I think we can keep a secret." Hanna reached over and touched Aria's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Aria opened her eyes, seeing the complete honesty radiating from the blue eyes. She glanced at Emily and Spencer who too looked her in the eyes and nodded for her to continue.

"His…" Aria paused. "His father is Ezra." Aria let the words roll off her tongue, she felt like a weight was being lifted off her shoulders. "Ezra Fitz." Aria said his last name, knowing her friends would now get the picture. Would now understand.

"Mr. Fitz?" Spencer whispered, shocked.

Again, all Aria could do was nod her head.

"A teacher?" Emily stated the obvious. "Aria…" She drawled out.

"Please don't." Aria rolled her eyes, knowing she would have to go into further detail in-order for this to come across genuine. "It's a long story…" She sighed.

"We have all night…" Hanna smiled, tilting her head. Basically telling her to spill.

Aria gave it a few minutes, thinking about where to begin when the answer was simple really. She needed to start from the beginning.

With a smile on her face she could smell the beer and burgers being made, hear the jukebox playing B26, could see the curly haired guy sitting a few rows over until he came over and felt the warmth of him being so close to her. She felt the butterflies in her stomach like she did that day from the conversation they had and the way he followed her into the bathroom where he started kissing her on the counter.

"Ezra and I met before school started." Aria ventured on. "In fact, we met at Snookers over by Hollis." Aria tucked her hair behind her ear.

"They let you into a college bar without ID?" Hanna blurted out, clearly missing the point.

"That's beside the point." Spencer gave Hanna a dumbfounded look.

"Hey, if Miss five two can be seen as an adult, I have to try it." Hanna shrugged.

"You were saying…" Emily cleared her throat, wanting to get back to the story.

"I don't know…" Aria shook her head, trying to recapture what she wanted to say. "We just connected on this deep level." She tried to make sense of it, but to this day couldn't quite get it. They were old souls who connected. "We talked about everything…books, music, even writing." She laughed under her breath. "I just wanted to get know him," Aria whispered, her tone serious. "And then one thing led to another and I made out with him in the bathroom." She blushed.

"Seriously?" Hanna giggled, like a schoolgirl.

"So basically you never even knew he was our teacher until you saw him that first day in class?" Spencer clarified. Years later, and she now realized the reason for his shocked expression and choice of words from that first day of school.

The way he stared at Aria and how everyone looked at her.

"Yep," Aria nodded. "Then we tried to stop, but we just couldn't." Aria made it known clear that they had tried to stop.

"So…" Emily started off slow. "All those nights you wanted us to cover for you and when you couldn't have girls' nights on the weekends was because you were spending them with him?" She pointed towards Aria, trying to wrap her head around all of this.

"Yeah." Aria whispered, knowing she had flat-out lied to her friends.

Spencer let out a deep breath, trying to clear her head as she processed the information. This was the secret Aria had been keeping the night they had shared their sleepover. She knew it was the truth, she could always tell when her friends were being honest with her she just had to comprehended it and let it sink in.

"Apart of me thinks this very hot, but-" Spencer shook her head, her eyes wide as she was speechless.

"But another part of you thinks it was very self-destructive?" Aria finished her friend's sentence, knowing exactly what she had meant to say. "I know, believe me." Aria sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Does Mr. Fi-" Emily paused. "Ezra, know about Luca?" She asked, the thought popping into her head. She never remembered seeing any notion of him knowing; then again she never even knew they were seeing each other years before.

"Well…" Aria huffed. "By now I think he knows something happened." Aria spoke the truth. Meaning she hadn't told him, but deep down he knew something was going on she wasn't telling him. She knew he knew, and it tore her up inside that she couldn't tell him.

"Are you going to tell him?" Hanna questioned, stating the question everyone was thinking but wouldn't dare ask.

"I don't know." Aria shrugged, looking down into the fire. "If he found out and wanted to start spending time with Luc and people saw us together in public it would only be damaging to his career." Aria explained the seriousness of the situation. "He could go to jail." She looked at her friends, her voice shaking.

"So your back with your family after everything you dad put you through because?" Hanna shook her head.

"Your brain really needs to catch up to your mouth before you speak." Spencer glared at Hanna, tilting her head in annoyance. Hanna swallowed her tongue and Spencer gave Aria an apologetic look.

Aria was learning to take Hanna's blunt questions and statements with a grain of salt as she thought about the reason why she was back.

"Luca is sick." Aria swallowed the lump growing in her throat. "And the doctors called my mom." She stated. "He needs to stay in a clean environment and with my dad gone I figured I could come back." Aria shrugged her shoulders. Life had a funny way of making her face her fears.

Emily could tell by the way Aria had phrased her words that she wasn't too keen on being back. She knew Aria would do everything she could to keep her boy safe, she had observed that first hand at the Brew, but still she could see her apprehension.

"Are you having second thoughts or something?" Emily asked.

"It's just my mom." Aria shook her head, knowing it sounded more dramatic than it actually was. "She's making me feel like the past few years never happened." She vented. "I know she's only trying to help, but I feel like she's doing everything for me. She's buying us clothes, making doctor's appointments, and making me go to parties." She detailed. "It's like she wants everything to go back to the way it was before." Aria rambled.

"Maybe you need to be a normal kid for a few hours." Hanna shrugged, offering the first bit of good advice all night.

"I doubt your mom wants to really control everything." Emily pulled Aria's attention towards her. "She probably sees you as her little girl." She hoped to shed some light on the subject. "I wouldn't let it get to you, believe me," She rolled her eyes. "My mom still makes me feel smothered." Emily laughed.

Spencer was off on her own thoughts, she ran through every word Aria had just said, but one thing stuck out in her mind. Something she just couldn't let go of.

"Getting back to Luc," Spencer began. "You said he's sick?" She quizzically asked. She saw the way Aria swallowed deeply and the pain in her eyes, she hoped she hadn't said anything wrong. "Is he going to be okay?" Spencer took a deep breath too.

Aria looked to the ground, trying to hold back her tears. She remembered what Janette told her, that it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help but blame herself anyways.

The three girls glanced between each other, unsure of what their friend was about to say. They were all scared for the truth; they were all scared for Aria and Luca.

"Aria?" Emily pulled her friend out of her thoughts. "What is it?" She stood up and walked around to sit beside her friend, between her and Hanna. "What's wrong?" She asked again, placing a hand on Aria's shoulder, feeling her friend's tension.

"I'm sorry…" Aria sniffled, looking up, trying to catch her breath. "Luca," Aria swallowed. "He has Cystic Fibrosis." Aria let a cry escape her lips.

"CF?" Spencer responded, getting a short nod from Aria. Hanna and Emily looked to Spencer for more understanding. "It's when mucus builds up in his lungs and it makes it hard for him to breath." Spencer explained, shifting closer to Aria and wrapping her friend in a hug.

"Is there anything we can do?" Hanna offered, rubbing Aria's back gently.

"My mom can get you some of the best doctors in the area?" Spencer added.

Aria pulled away and flipped her fallen hair away from her face as she gathered her thoughts. "Right now he's too little for anything." Aria bit her lip. "The doctors just told me I have to keep an eye on him." She swallowed.

"It's going to be okay." Emily squeezed Aria's hand, offering encouragement. She always did see the optimism in all things. "We are all here for you." She pulled her friend into another tight hug, one that Hanna and Spencer soon joined in on.

Aria was still afraid, but she knew she had done the right thing by telling her friends. She knew they would always have her back.

**Yay! So Aria finally told her friends the truth and Ezra wants to get close to her again! I must admit that I enjoyed writing the party and group scenes by the campfire the best, I just loved bringing the girls together. Did you like the way I added in how the ****girl's lives started to collide, Hanna meeting Caleb, Emily missing Ali, Spencer with Toby, and whats up with Aria taking the pills to stay awake? Any clues? Well I have chapter 6 written, and I'm almost done writing chapter 7. **

**PLEASE continue to REVIEW they help me know what your thoughts and ideas are about the story. If you leave me a review with your ****screen name whether your signed in or not I will be more than happy to reply. :)**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home:**

"What are these fliers for?" Aria itched her nose before picking up a blue and white piece of paper, the words Truth Day written in big bold letters. "These are for an activity Principal Hackett has planned for next Monday. Truth Day, its an overnight school event." Ella detailed, as she took the flier from Aria and placed it on a random stack.

{PLL}

"Is that really the time?" Ella's eyes bugged out. "I have to get going; I'm meeting someone for coffee." Ella frantically scurried around the room, putting Luc's dirty plate in the sink "Oh really?" Aria leaned against the island, watching her mom quickly move about. She placed her cereal bar on the counter, eyeing her mom curiously. "His name is Zack," Ella said.

{PLL}

"What are you doing today?" Ella changed the subject, glancing up at Aria. "Umm…" Aria took a deep breath and sighed. "Spencer said she would help me with my English worksheet." She casually said, hoping it sounded genuine. She didn't want her mom finding out that she was taking Ezra up on his offer for his help on tutoring her. The last thing she needed was a lecture on getting involved with him again, and this time in public.

{PLL}

"I just hope I'm not getting myself into something again." Aria bit down on her lip, looking down into her coffee as the real reason for her nerves came out. "You mean with Ezra?" Spencer clarified, examining Aria closely. "Yeah," Aria sighed. "I don't want to get too comfortable again." She admitted.

{PLL}

"You're here…" Ezra stated casually, his blue eyes brightening as he watched her study the books. "Against my better judgment," Aria gave a small laugh, pulling a book from it's hiding spot and flipping it over in her hand before placing it back on the shelf. "But I want the grade." She sighed, finally turning to look at him.

{PLL}

"Hanna…" Spencer scolded her friend. "What?" Hanna raised her hands in confusion, the pillow sitting in her lap. "All kids love peek-a-boo." Hanna defended. "Hey, Luc. Look at me." Spencer turned him towards her. "She didn't mean to scare you." Spencer tried to calm him down by rubbing his back. "Aunt Hanna can be a real ditz at times." Spencer glared at Hanna, who rolled her eyes with a smirk. "I thought you said you've baby sat before?" Emily questioned Hanna from the sink as she filled a sippy-cup with water for Luca.

{PLL}

"I am so sorry to bother you," Spencer cringed. "But Luca has been crying non-stop for about a half an hour." She turned towards the red-faced boy with wet cheeks. "We're trying to put him down for a nap, but he is just not having it." Spencer shook her head.

{PLL}

"You think it was easy for me?" Aria blurted out, her eyes holding just as much pain as they stared at him. "I thought about you every second I was gone, but I couldn't-" Her voice cracked, tears welling up in her eyes, desperate to fall. She took a shaky breath, closing her eyes. She couldn't tell him why she had left, she couldn't. "You couldn't what, Aria?" Ezra begged her to continue. He moved closer towards her, taking her hand hoping the gesture would make her go on. "Aria, what is it?" He whispered again.

{PLL}

She gulped down her fears as she darted her eyes over his face and watched as he leaned into her. It was a short kiss; it was so right. Aria was stunned at the boldness it took for him to do that out in the open, but it renewed something within herself. She felt whole.

{PLL}

"Then just sleep on it." Spencer suggested. "Maybe things will change in a few days." She advised.

_**PLEASE REVIEW & I WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**_


	6. Sleep On It

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry if you keep getting updates about this chapter, I'm having difficulties uploading it. I can't believe PLL Season 5 is next Tuesday! I've ordered season 4 on DVD so I hope to get it soon. And if you haven't listened to Lucy Hale's CD, Road Between, it is SO GOOD! Just Another Song was so written about EZRIA! Every lyric…just go listen to it! ****T****hank you to my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya for all your help. Thank you everyone who continues to READ, REVIEW, FOLLOW, AND FAVORITE this story. The wait is over, here is chapter 6. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

******I also have a Twitter account where you can leave me reviews atHeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars. I only own the characters in which I create.**

**Finding Home**

**Chapter 6: Sleep On It**

❡Little boy, when you speak❡

I can't help but kiss your cheeks

I love the way you grab my hands

And tell me all about your plans

Rocket high, comets fly

You and I could take a ride

And fly away to Neverland

And give our best to Peter Pan

When you reach for the stars

Don't forget who you are

And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast

See the sand in my grasp

From the first to the last

Every grain becomes a memory of the past

Oh, life's an hourglass

❡Life's an hourglass❡

{Hourglass by Mindy Gledhill}

Ella held tight to Luca as he tried to once again to squirm his way out of her grasp. Dressed in only his jean pants Ella managed to pull the green dinosaur shirt over his curly head of hair, all the while he laughed as if it was a game.

The front door opened and closed just as Ella managed to get Luca's arms into the sleeves. Glancing up, Ella saw Aria standing in the front entrance noticing the two in the living room.

"Well look who it is, Luc?" Ella spoke with excitement in her voice as Luca took off in the direction of his mom.

"Mommy! Hi!" Luca tackled Aria as she bent down to his level. With a smile she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. There was nothing she loved more than holding her son.

Walking through the front door, Aria felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She felt at peace now that her friends knew the truth. They were even more eager to meet Luca than Aria thought possible.

"Hey there, Luc." Aria kissed his head of hair. "I missed you." She tickled his stomach, a loud gut laugh echoing through the room as he squirmed from her grasp, but Aria held him close. "Were you a good boy for grandma?" Aria asked, but Luca was laughing too hard trying to get away to answer.

"He was fine." Ella laughed, standing up. She smoothened out her black skirt and fixed her charm bracelet around her wrist as she walked to the counter in the kitchen. "How was your time with the girls?" She said with her back to Aria as she counted the number of paper copies she had in stacks on the granite top.

"Really good." Aria stood up and placed her bag beside the wall. "Felt like old times." Aria admitted as she shrugged off her jacket and placed it on the coat rack.

"See, I told you it was a good idea to spend time with your friends." Ella turned towards Aria; the mother-knows-best look written across her face.

Aria gave her mom a small eye roll, but the smirk on her face let her mom know it was in humor. She had to agree that spending time with her friends had helped her feel like she was truly home. She could never go back to the way it was, but this new change was something she could get use to.

Walking into the kitchen, Aria's stomach growled in hunger as she noticed the fliers of all colors laid out on counter. She rounded the island were the snack bars were located and the coffee pot sat half full.

"What are these fliers for?" She itched her nose before picking up a blue and white piece of paper, the words Truth Day written in big bold letters. Holding the paper up to her face, Aria turned it around to show her mom as she glanced up.

"These are for an activity Principal Hackett has planned for next Monday. Truth Day, its an overnight school event." Ella detailed, as she took the flier from Aria and placed it on a random stack.

"Sounds interesting." Aria removed one of the mugs from the cabinet above the coffeepot. "I don't remember having one of those before." Aria furrowed her eyes in thought, as she poured herself a cup of steaming coffee.

"We started it a few years ago." Ella began, placing the stacks into her school briefcase. Aria took a granola bar from the snack box and opened the wrapper. "The school had some bullying issues and this was one of the ways we helped to calm the waters so to speak." Ella zipped up her bag and placed it flat on the counter.

Luca stood at Aria's feet, a small whine escaping his mouth as he reached up towards his mom for a bite of her snack. With a smile, Aria broke a small piece off and handed it to Luca who eagerly took the piece and put it in his mouth.

"I guess I will have to either find someone to watch Luc or just not spend the night." Aria swallowed her food.

"It's for the whole school but mainly for the upperclassmen, maybe I can write Mike a note and he can watch Luca. I think it would be a good experience for you since he's done it twice already." Ella advised as she glanced at the digital clock on the stove. "Is that really the time?" Ella's eyes bugged out. "I have to get going; I'm meeting someone for coffee." Ella frantically scurried around the room, putting Luc's dirty plate in the sink.

"Oh really?" Aria leaned against the island, watching her mom quickly move about. She placed her cereal bar on the counter, eyeing her mom curiously.

"His name is Zack," Ella paused. "And we've been seeing each other for a few months." Ella shrugged like it was no big deal, but Aria could see the redness of her cheeks from blushing. "Nothing too serious yet, he just owns The Brew and happens to like blueberry scones with coffee on a Saturday morning." She looked at Aria and smiled.

"Oh…" Aria wasn't sure what to think about her mom dating. To be honest she never thought of it happening. Then again, she never thought her dad would cheat on her mom let alone ask her to lie about it. Ella spotted the unease and startled look upon her daughter's face and stopped what she was doing.

"What?" Ella asked, concerned.

"Nothing…" Aria played with the wrapper of her cereal bar, her eyes trained down. "Just hard for me to picture you with anyone but dad." She shrugged and looked her mom in the eyes, swallowing her discomfort.

"Yeah well…" Ella gave her a small eye roll. "Life moves on," Ella sighed. "I can't stay stuck in the past, I have to be realistic." She laughed with sarcasm in her voice. "Your father wants to be with a younger woman, then I have the right to go out with a younger guy." Ella stood before the sliver toaster, fixing her hair in the reflection. "What are you doing today?" Ella changed the subject, glancing up at Aria.

"Umm…" Aria took a deep breath and sighed. "Spencer said she would help me with my English worksheet." She casually said, hoping it sounded genuine. She didn't want her mom finding out that she was taking Ezra up on his offer for his help on tutoring her. The last thing she needed was a lecture on getting involved with him again, and this time in public.

"That sounds productive." Ella pulled her extra cellphone off the wall charger. "Who is going to watch Luc?" She gestured towards him.

"Well I was hoping you could, but I guess I'll ask Mike." Aria replied, picking Luc up.

"He can't," Ella shook her head, her eyes trained on her phone screen in disappointment. "He left an hour ago for lacrosse and he won't be back until dinner." She added.

"I guess I will take Luc with me." Aria bounced him on her hip, rather excited at the prospects of her friends meeting her little boy, even if to Ella it had to be another story.

"But-" Ella started.

"I will make something up." Aria quickly cut her mom off.

The home phone started to ring as Aria sat Luca back down before going to answer it. "Okay." Ella agreed, seeing as Aria didn't have any other options and she didn't really want to cancel her date. Saved by the bell Aria was thankful she hadn't let her mom talk her out of solution. "Have fun and call me if you need me to pick you up." Ella took her keys out of her purse and opened the front door. "Oh," She turned back to Aria. "I picked up Luca's inhaler; it's sitting on the counter." She pointed in the direction.

"Alright, have fun on your coffee date." Aria nodded as her mom left, the front door closing with a click. "Hello?" Aria answered the ringing phone.

"Hello, this is Dr. Kingston from Rosewood's doctor's office is Aria Montgomery there?" He questioned over the line.

"This is she…" Aria swallowed.

"Hi, I was hoping you could come in sometime next week. There is something I would like to discuss with you." He spoke seriously. He paused for a moment, glancing back down at her chart, double-checking the confirmation. "It's about your blood-work from your checkup." He added. Aria bit down on her lower lip, glancing at her jacket pocket, knowing what they had found.

"Well I'm um…" Aria began, pausing as she tried to think of a way out of this. "I'm really busy right now with school." She excused. "But I will see what I can do." She quickly added, already knowing it was a big fat lie.

"Aria," He emphasized her name. "This is a very serious matter and-"

"I understand." She cut him off, nodding as if he could see her. "I have to go." She replied.

"Wait, Ar-" He tries again.

"Bye." Aria hung up, closing her eyes as she slammed the phone down onto the receiver. Opening her eyes, she sees Luc playing with his teddy bear. "Come on Luc, were going for a walk." She stated as she removed his tiny jacket off the coat rack and walked towards him with a smile. Maybe the fresh-air and walk to Spencer's would help her clear her head, she thought.

{EZRIA}

Spencer poured Aria a second cup of coffee in the dark blue mug, pouring herself her fourth this morning. From behind the island of her kitchen, Spencer tilted her head sideways, smiling as she watched Aria set up a small play area for Luca.

Luca sat on her parents white loveseat trying to figure out what the fancy pillows with fringe on the edges were as Aria pushed the glass coffee table towards the fireplace to block him from go near it.

Kid toys scattered over the oriental rug placed on the wood floor of her house as Spencer noted the building blocks and trains. Aria picked Luca up off his seated position and set him on the floor to play as she got him situated. She really only did this to give him a sense of security for when she would have to leave.

Seeing that Luca was preoccupied by his toys, Aria stood and walked to the island, angling her chair so she could still keep an eye on Luc while talking to Spencer.

"Thank you so much for doing this." Aria grabs the handle of her mug and lets the aroma fill her senses. "I hate to pawn Luc off on you like this, but I'm meeting Ezra at the library in half an hour." Aria takes a sip of her coffee as Spencer scoots the chair across from Aria's ways from the island so she could sit.

"It's no problem." Spencer waves it off, fixing the tank top under her baggie sweater. "My parents are off being lawyers and Melissa is in the city. Besides, Hanna and Emily are going to come over they want to meet Luc." Spencer glanced back over to him, seeing him knocking over a small tower with his trains. Aria followed Spencer's line of sight and laughed when Luc knocked over the tower, sending himself into a fit of giggles and then looking over at Aria to see if she had watched.

"Don't forget my mom thinks I'm here studying with you so if she calls just make something up." Aria reminded Spencer for what was like the tenth time. She had to admit she was a little on edge about sneaking around again. Doing it once had been easy, and yes, over the years she became the master at lying between her teeth on the streets but this was a whole new level of lying.

"I will, everything will be fine." Spencer reassured her friend, trying to get Aria to calm down or else she was going to send her into a frazzle of nerves for no reason but to be nervous.

"I just hope I'm not getting myself into something again." Aria bit down on her lip, looking down into her coffee as the real reason for her nerves came out.

"You mean with Ezra?" Spencer clarified, examining Aria closely.

"Yeah," Aria sighed. "I don't want to get too comfortable again." She admitted.

It was hard enough to sit in his classroom every day, she didn't know how it was going to be studying one on one with him. The last thing she needed was him thinking that studying at the library was anything more than just studying at the library.

"What if it was more than just studying?" Spencer brought her coffee to her lips, daring to know the answer. She knew Aria was treading on thin ice and being around him made her vulnerable. She always wondered it deep down Aria wanted the studying to be more than just studying.

"There can't be any what if's." Aria stated, looking Spencer in the eyes like if she said it as determined as she could she would start to believe it. "If he found out about Luca then coming back to Rosewood would have been the biggest mistake." Aria finalized her decision. No matter what she was feeling inside, she had to keep it strictly student-teacher to keep everything from falling apart.

"There are no mistakes." Spencer encouraged Aria with that little detail "And I know that we are all here for you." Spencer nodded towards Aria, sympathy in her eyes.

"Thank." Aria smiled, and gave a small laugh.

"Team Sparia, remember?" Spencer reminded.

"Team Sparia." Aria agreed.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Aria decided that the time had come for her to leave if she was going to make the walk to the library on time.

"I guess I should get going." She swallowed the last of her lukewarm coffee and set the mug back down on the table. Hoping down off her stool, she pushed it back under her setting. "There is a coloring book in Luc's bag and his inhaler is-"

"Is in the front zipper of his coat. If there are any questions we will call you." Spencer rambled off the mental list she had taken earlier when Aria had explained everything. Aria entered the living room and put her winter jacket on as she knelt beside Luca. Spencer soon followed Aria, taking a seat on the loveseat, her feet dangling down next to Luc. "Luc seems to like it here." Spencer watched as he played.

Aria rubbed his back gently as a cough erupted from Luc's chest. "He's lived all over. He gets used to new places." Aria sighed, smiling weakly, not noticing the sadness clouding Spencer's features.

"After awhile this will be an old place and it will be like a second home." Spencer nodded, hoping her voice hadn't given her away. She swallowed deeply and it allowed her to get control of her emotions.

"I hope so…" Aria agreed, still looking down at Luc. She wanted him to have a normal life. "I want him to know his 'Aunty Spencer'." Aria looked up at Spencer and laughed.

"Me too…" She laughed. She poked Aria with her sock, just a small nudge. "Now go have fun with Ezra." She demanded, letting out another teasing laugh.

"I will…" Aria rolled her eyes and laughed too. "Okay, Luc, mommy will be back in a few hours. You behave for Aunty Spencer, Hanna, and Emily." Aria warned her son. He nodded his head, but kept his eyes trained on his toys. "Love you." She kissed him on the head before standing and walking to the front door.

{EZRIA}

The library was quite, just as it should be as Aria browsed the books along the shelf. She found herself in the kid's section, no surprise to her as she perused the Clifford, Dr. Susess, and Arthur books for Luca's favorites.

Living in Philly, she had brought Luca to the library on many occasions. Not only was it a great way to get out of the cold during the winter, but also the library offered a world of knowledge. He was only a few years old, but still she wanted him to know the importance of an education and what it could do for you.

She bit her lip in concentration as she pulled a copy of Stella Luna from the shelf, the front cover a picture of a baby bat hanging up side-down. Turning back the cover, she read the summary of the story. About the baby bat who learns that being different is okay. Finding out that a home is more then where you live, but about the people you share it with and the experiences you learn along the way.

Aria smiled and recalled the book from her own childhood, and how even now it resonated back to her life. She tucked the book between the crook in her arm and her chest as she took a few steps to the next shelf full of books.

Her eyes were glued to the spines of the hardcovers and paperbacks as a tall figure appeared to the side of her. She could smell his cologne without even glancing up to make sure it was him, which she knew it was.

She remained silent, she knew he was going to make a comment about her showing up when she had stated she wouldn't. She knew he was going to say it meant more then it was. She wasn't going to give him the upper hand, the thought that it was.

"You're here…" Ezra stated casually, his blue eyes brightening as he watched her study the books.

"Against my better judgment," Aria gave a small laugh, pulling a book from it's hiding spot and flipping it over in her hand before placing it back on the shelf. "But I want the grade." She sighed, finally turning to look at him.

She spotted the coffees in the cardboard container and the schoolbook under his left arm. He wasn't dressed in his teacher attire, but not necessarily casual either, just comfy, the way Aria often remembered him being in his apartment.

"Something to strive towards." Ezra nodded, noticing the front she was already putting up, yet he tried to keep her talking. "I brought coffee…" He took the steaming cup out of the tray and held it in front of her. "Vanilla soy latte, your favorite." He declared, yet all she did was glance from the coffee to him and then back again.

"Thanks," She smiled, but still she didn't take the cup from his hand. "But this isn't a coffee date." She remarked, shaking her head. "And if you didn't think I was going to show why bring the coffee?" She questioned, bending her knee as her hand went to her hip in a defensive pose.

"Because I knew you would come." He replied, like it was common sense. To him it was; he knew she would come. "And the coffee is just a drink." He remarked, moving the cup a few inches closer to her as if to reoffer it to her.

Aria swallowed the uneasy she was feeling, she didn't want to give him the wrong impression by taking the drink. She bit her lip again, looking down at the drink when her hand finally reached for the Styrofoam.

"Okay." She accepted it, trying to keep a blank expression upon her face. "So…" She glanced around the room. "Where do you want to do this?" She asked. Her question, although innocent caught both of them as taken to another level of meaning as an awkward silence fell over them. "The tutoring I mean." Aria clarified, a light blush covering her cheeks, she hoped he didn't notice. "I mean do you want to sit at one of the tables or on the couch?" She swallowed, pointing towards the nearby table and couch. She rather hoped he would say the table, the couch offered contact too close for comfort.

"Um…" Ezra stalled, noticing the pink of her cheeks as he diverted his eyes from the tables to the couch. "The table is fine." He answered, knowing it would probably be a safer teaching zone.

He motioned towards the table and followed behind Aria who took the first step towards the square table. She took the chair on the left, the library book she was going to get for Luc down and placing her coffee cup on top of it.

"So did you do any of the read?" He asked, in small talk. He also wanted to gage her understanding for the book so far. Ezra too set his cup and schoolbook down on the desk, removing the chair beside Aria's and sitting down.

"I skimmed through it." Aria shrugged, her eyes lowering to the schoolbook in front of her as she removed the worksheet from inside the cover.

"You mean you read the ending." Ezra gave a smirk, and stifled a laugh under his breath. "You always did like to know how the story would end before you started reading." He detailed, watching as she rolled her eyes. He took a sip of his coffee and then cracked open the over his teacher's edition.

"If only I could do that with life." Aria smirked, sarcasm dripping from her lips. By her comment, Ezra knew this was going to be a long lesson.

{EZRIA}

When mommy's away, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily quickly learned that Luca was fast. He kept them on their toes as they tried their best to keep an eye on him. Emily took on the task of making him lunch while Hanna made his makeshift bed for naptime and Spencer kept him occupied with his toys.

"Whoa! Buddy," Spencer reached for Luca, just managing to catch him before he headed towards the stairs. "Where do you think you're going?" Spencer bent her head down to the little guy as he laughed and kicked his feet as she carried him back to the couch.

"Up! Up!' Luca squealed, raising his arms.

"Hey, Emily. How's the food coming? This guy is getting adventurous?" Spencer called to her friend from across the room. Emily stood at the stove, mixing pouring a pack of noodles into a pot of boiling water.

"Just about ready." Emily responded, turning towards the pair. Luca currently had his toy train and was running it along the arm of the couch, making train noises, his curly hair falling into his blue eyes.

"He's so cute." Hanna gushed, as she spread out the fleece blanket on the rug. "The perfect mini Ezra." She noted, seeing the obvious similarities of eye color and smile.

"Food." Luca whined, hungry as he looked up at Spencer.

"It's coming… It's coming…" Spencer assured the little boy.

He tugged on the side of her shirt, pulling down the sweater revealing her tank top, as he used her as leverage to stand on the couch. She fixed her sweater and wrapped her arms around his waist to keep him balanced.

A rough cough escaped his lips and Spencer could feel the rumble down in his chest. Spencer and Hanna who sat closest to the boy heard the noise and glanced towards each other. Spencer tried her best to smile, but she remembered the pained expression Aria's face as she told them how sick he is.

"Hey, Luc." Hanna called, grabbing his attention as he turned around to look at her. He plopped down onto the couch, much to Spencer's relief so he wouldn't fall. "Peek-a-boo" Hanna raised the large throw pillow in front of her face, and then quickly let it fall.

Scared of the game, Luca's lip began to quiver and Hanna's smile faded as suddenly Luca began to whimper.

"Hanna…" Spencer scolded her friend.

"What?" Hanna raised her hands in confusion, the pillow sitting in her lap. "All kids love peek-a-boo." Hanna defended.

"Hey, Luc. Look at me." Spencer turned him towards her. "She didn't mean to scare you." Spencer tried to calm him down by rubbing his back. "Aunt Hanna can be a real ditz at times." Spencer glared at Hanna, who rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"I thought you said you've baby sat before?" Emily questioned Hanna from the sink as she filled a sippy-cup with water for Luca. Spencer stood to her feet, carrying Luca over to the island and setting him down on her lap at one of the chairs.

"Yeah, but the kid wasn't in diapers." Hanna replied, tossing the pillow down next to the blanket on the floor. "The worst the kid could do was stick his head through the stairs railing." She explained, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder and standing to her feet. With mouth's hanging open speechless, Spencer and Emily looked to each and shook their heads stifling laughter.

Emily went back to fixing Luca's lunch, scoping a small bowl filled with cheesy noodles.

"Food's done." Emily announced. "One mac n cheese with apple slices coming right up." Emily placed the bowl of steaming cheesy noodles at the island and a paper towel with bite size pieces of apple next to it.

At the mention of food, Luca's pervious upset vanished as his attention was drawn to the food. He picked up one of the apple slices and popped the fruit into his mouth, smiling widely at the sweet taste.

"Mms…" Luc bounced on Spencer's lap in delight.

Hanna took the seat next to Spencer as Emily fixed three more bowls of mac n cheese and slid two of the bowls towards Hanna and Spencer. Leaning against the island Emily placed a spoon in her bowl and took a bite.

The four continued eating in silence until the clanking of Hanna's spoon in her bowl broke the silence. Lifting a hand to her nose, she took a deep breath through her mouth and plugged her nose.

"Um…speaking of diapers. Something smells." Hanna's voice high-pitched, from plugging her nose.

"Oh my…" Emily waved her hand in front of her nose, smelling the odor too. "Luc…" Emily looked to the boy whose facial features were stone as he finished his business.

"First of all it's not a diaper, it's a pull-up." Spencer corrected Hanna. "And two, who is going to change him?" Spencer looked between her friends.

"Don't look at me. I just made his bed." Hanna stepped away. "Emily made the food, she should clean up his mess too." Hanna pointed towards her friend.

"That is not a good reason." Emily defended, resting her hands on her hips.

"Well I'm not…" Hanna picked up the fight.

"Come on Luc," Spencer tore Luca's attention away from the two girls. "Let's allow these two crazy people to fight it out while I get you changed and then you can finish eating." Spencer glanced down at Luc in her lap as Emily and Hanna continued to argue, oblivious to the agreement Spencer and Luc had just made. Stepping off her chair, Spencer rounded Hanna and quickly moved to the bathroom.

{EZRIA}

Aria slouched down in her seat, bored and ready to leave as she stared at the round clock above the service desk. The hands barely moving as she huffed. Assignment sheets were spread out on the desk and the copies of All I Want To Do cracked open to the page needed as Ezra tried to keep Aria engaged in the task at hand.

"So what do you think was going through Rose's head when she saw Josh again?" Ezra shifted in his chair, as he pointed to the next question on the worksheet in front of Aria. One glance at her and he could see the detachment look she had towards him as she rolled her eyes and leaned forward to reread the question for herself.

"Um…" Aria grasped for the right words. Her neck was beginning to hurt from all the strain of starring down at the desk and she tilted her head to try to relieve the pain. "Relief…pain." Aria guessed, pulling on the ends of her sleeves under the table. "I don't know?" She shrugged.

Ezra licked his lips, for the past two hours they were crawling at best towards finishing the packet of worksheets. His desire to finish the work so he could actually talk about what he wanted to talk about was clawing in the back of his mind, but he did his best to encourage the work forward with a smile.

"Let's go with that than…" Ezra wrote down the two words on the worksheet. "Why relief and pain?" He questioned, hoping she was elaborate. She was on the right track, he was just curious for her reasoning behind it.

"Because…" Aria sighed, putting her elbow down the desk and resting her chin in the crook of her palm. "Because she was seeing her true love after all that time, but she knew she couldn't be with him." Aria detailed, from the information from the book.

If it wasn't for the marriage to another man, Aria swore the book was about her life. The long-time lover; the out of wedlock child, the disapproving father, controlling mother, and caring friends. It was basically her life on paper.

"Good." Ezra nodded. "You said Rose was seeing her true love Josh again." Ezra clarified.

"Yeah." Aria responded.

"But she married Tom." He paused. "Why wouldn't she get a divorce if she wasn't happy in her relationship?" He questioned, glancing at Aria who quickly diverted her eyes down to her book.

"She wanted to protect her child." Aria skimmed over a few of the words in the text, she couldn't stand to look into those blue eyes she saw every day in Luca. "She wanted her family and friends to support her." She explained, seeing the irony in how her friends were doing the same for her right now.

"Don't you think Josh could have protected her and their son?" Ezra pushed the conversation further.

Aria wanted to laugh at the question. She had learned first hand that the only person you could protect is herself and that no guy could shield her from the world.

"I doubt it." Aria scoffed.

She could feel his eyes on her, burned into her scalp as she flipped a few pages into the book. "Maybe…" Aria tried again, hoping it was a better answer.

Ezra heard the stifling of a laugh under her breath as she answered. Her answer revealing more about herself then she had known. Her response had him grasping for straws, had he not protected her? Had he not kept her safe?

"Can we take a break?" Aria's question cutting off his train of thought. She closed her book and took her cold coffee in hand as she took a sip making a face as she neared the end of the drink where all the syrup and coffee grinds were. Ezra did his best not to laugh at her reaction as he flipped to the last page of the packet and opened the book again.

"Were almost done." Ezra motioned towards the work. "Now," Ezra paused. "What would you say about-"

Aria's eyes caught sight of a little boy sitting on the floor between two bookshelves, his head resting upon his mother's side as she read to him. He couldn't be more than Luc's age and a smile crept up upon her lips at the thought of him. She wondered what he was doing, praying her was behaving for her friends. She knew he could get a little wild during the afternoon before naptime.

"Aria?" Ezra called to her again. She had clearly zoned out on him and was staring off.

"Hmm? What?" Aria jumped in her seat, turning back towards Ezra confused.

"I asked you what you thought about Rose and Josh's son never knowing who his real father is?" Ezra restated his question.

"I um…" Aria swallowed her words, she wasn't sure.

She wanted Ezra to know about Luc, but her mom had said that it would best to wait until after he was older. Wait, this wasn't about her, it was about the book, she remembered. "Do you ever think about having kids?" She blurted out. Realizing her sudden question Aria clamped her mouth shut, embarrassed as she felt her heart pounding in her chest.

"What?" Ezra raised his voice, looking around thankful that not that many people were around them. "Why-" He turned back to her, seeing the flustered look on her face. "Why would you ask that?" He furrowed his eyes in confusion.

The question went beyond student-teacher and back into that couple in his apartment. His confusion wasn't about the question really, but more so why she was asking it when they had discussed the topic years ago.

"I-" Aria began when a sharp ringing cut her off.

Saved by the ringtone, she felt under the desk for her purse and inside for the loud device. Once in hand, she saw the name Spencer cross the flashing screen and scooted back her chair. "Excuse me for a minute." She raised her index finger. "I have to take this." She quickly walked off to the corner, Ezra watching her back still trying to make sense of everything.

Aria glanced back at Ezra, noticing how he quickly turned his head away to make it look like he hadn't been staring after her. She turned her back towards him as she clicked the green button on the phone, immediately hearing the loud cries echoing.

"Hello." She answered.

Luca's cries continued as he sat up on the makeshift bed Hanna had made earlier on the floor. He obviously was scared of not having Aria there, the whole purpose of the phone call.

"I am so sorry to bother you," Spencer cringed. "But Luca has been crying non-stop for about a half an hour." She turned towards the red-faced boy with wet cheeks. "We're trying to put him down for a nap, but he is just not having it." Spencer shook her head. "He keeps screaming Peter Pan, we have no clue what he wants. We tried putting on the movie, but that's not helping." Spencer gave a nervous laugh as she looked at the Disney movie currently paused on the TV screen.

"It's okay buddy." Hanna patted Luca's back. "Do this…" Hanna mimicked the motions of going to sleep by laying her head down on the pillow and closing her eyes, but all Luca did was stare at her confused, frightened, and crying.

"What's Aria saying?" Emily asked, turning her eyes from Hanna to Spencer who wasn't saying anything.

"Just a minute." Spencer replied. "Mhhh… Oh… Okay." Spencer nodded over the phone.

"What?" Hanna sat up, staring back at Spencer perplexed. "My ears going to start bleeding soon…" Hanna groaned, plugging her ears from Luca's deafening cries.

"Shh…" Spencer hushed Hanna. "No, you don't need to leave." Spencer all but demanded her friend.

"Are you sure Spence?" Aria scratched her head. She could still hear Luca's cries over the line she was concerned. "I can tell Ezra that something came up." She glanced over at him, his eyes glued to the worksheet on the desk. She bit her lip, looking back at the wall in front of her, debating whether she should just go.

"Aria, go back to Ezra." Spencer commanded her friend. "We can handle this." She confirmed.

Aria sighed, still reluctant as to what to do. She knew leaving Ezra would lead to more questions, but the sound of Luca's crying had Aria torn.

"Let me at least talk to him, he will settle down faster." Aria explained to Spencer. She could hear the phone being shuffled as she waited for an answer.

"Here," Spencer handed the phone to Emily, standing to her feet. "Put this up to Luc's ear." Spencer advised Emily who looked at the phone confused.

"What are you doing?" Hanna asked Spencer who swiftly walked towards the folded stroller in the corner by the door. "His teddy bear is in the stroller and he sleeps with it." Spencer detailed. It took Spencer a few seconds to pry open the seat where the toy lay squished inside.

"So that's Peter Pan." Hanna connected the dots as she motioned towards the bear.

Emily held the phone up to Luc's ear; thankful that his sobs were just whimpers.

"Luc…it's okay." Aria's soothing voice spoke over the phone.

"Mommy!" Luc sniffled, taking the bear from Spencer's hand as she knelt before him.

The three girl's and small boy could all hear Aria's reply over the line as Luca started to hiccup from the crying. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, calming down.

"Buddy, it's okay." Aria smiled over the line. "Lie down and go to sleep with Peter Pan and when you wake up I'll be there to get you." Aria comforted Luc.

The small boy did as he was told and rested his head down on the pillow. Emily moved with him so he could still hear Aria's voice over the phone as Spencer tucked him under the blanket. Hanna fixed his curl brown hair out of his eyes as he closed them.

"Okay." Luc yawned, exhausted from the ordeal.

"Good boy. I love you." Aria could hear the change in his voice and knew he was better.

"Love you." Luc curled up with his teddy, holding it closer to his chest, his breathing already starting to relax into sleep.

Spencer gave a sigh of relief, happy that they had figured out the problem without making Aria come over. Emily handed her back the phone as she stood to her feet and shut off the TV in the corner.

"He's already asleep." Spencer glanced down at Luc. "See, no problem." Spencer whispered.

"Good." Aria sighed again. "See you in a bit then?" She confirmed.

"Yeah. Bye." Spencer agreed.

"Bye." Aria hung up.

Ezra licked his lips, shuffling his feet under the table as he tried to make it look like he had been studying the worksheet in front of him. While she was away he had noticed the children's book sitting under her coffee cup and pondered the thoughts as to why she was checking it out.

Aria shoved her phone into her pocket, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she walked back over to Ezra. She pulled her chair back and gave him a smile as she took her seat, thankful that all he did was smile back.

"Sorry about that." She apologized, grabbing her pencil. "Family crisis." She rolled her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Ezra asked, concerned. He knew her family's past and wanting to help anyway he could.

"Yeah," Aria shrugged. "Just the usual family drama." She tilted her head, looking back down at her worksheet.

"You sure?" Ezra questioned again. "I thought everything was going good since your mom met baker-man down at The Brew." Ezra referred to town gossip.

Aria looked up from her work, puzzled by Ezra's sudden interest in her family life and just how much of it he seemed to know. Her mouth was slightly ajar as she stared him in the eyes.

"Why is that any of your business?" She defended.

"Everyone knows, Aria." Ezra stated, like it was old news. The wall around her was building up again as her face turned cold. "My classroom is across from your mom's and he comes in at lunch sometimes." He clarified, hoping this would calm her gaze.

"Oh…" Was all Aria could say, swallowing her embarrassment at allowing her anger to rise so quickly.

"Are you okay?" Ezra turned his body towards hers' in his seat. He saw the mixed emotions of embarrassment, remorse, and sadness written across her features. "We can talk if something's bothering you." Ezra placed a hand upon her shoulder, letting her know he was there for her.

Aria took a deep breath, feeling him lightly squeeze her shoulder. She thought about expressing her feelings about her mom dating a younger guy, but she hadn't even met this Zack. Plus, telling Ezra about her family problems was how they grew closer in the first place and she didn't want him thinking that confiding in him again was going to make them any closer than they were already getting.

"No." Aria shrugged him off, his hand retreating back. "I'm fine." Aria clarified with a weak smile. "I told you everything's good." She convinced herself. "Let's just get back to the worksheet." Aria turned back towards her book and flipped the page.

Ezra stared at her for a moment, blinking back his confusion. She diverted her eyes to her book. He knew something was bothering her. He knew he shouldn't push her, but the questions about her leaving and then returning had him desperately wanting answers.

"Aria I was hoping we could-" He started.

"We could what, Ezra?" Aria's voice rose, pausing for a moment. "Talk?" She snapped her head up to look at him, answering her own question.

Ezra's throat went dry, as he saw the icy reflection in her eyes and stiffness of her body language. He closed his mouth, shocked by her reaction. He watched as she huffed and returned her gaze towards her book. "There is nothing to discuss…" She stated; her voice calmer, just a whisper.

Ezra swallowed, taking a few moments to let the air around them settle as Aria focused her attention to her worksheet.

Ezra thought about bringing up his rounding thoughts, he needed answers. For the past week he had been banging himself upside the head wondering how everything had changed. Why everything had changed. Taking a deep breath he turned towards Aria, his voice steady and just a whisper as he spoke.

"I know something's going on your not telling me about." He began. Aria rolled her eyes, keeping them glued to the book. She gave a heavy sigh and did her best to focus on the sentence she had already read five times, but Ezra's words had her attention. "It took me three months to finally get your mom to talk to me when you first left." Ezra ground his teeth together, noticing the way Aria wouldn't even look at him. "Then she told the school you moved away and I-I couldn't believe you would leave me like that." Ezra detailed, pain in his voice.

"You think it was easy for me?" Aria blurted out, her eyes holding just as much pain as they stared at him. "I thought about you every second I was gone, but I couldn't-" Her voice cracked, tears welling up in her eyes, desperate to fall. She took a shaky breath, closing her eyes. She couldn't tell him why she had left, she couldn't.

"You couldn't what, Aria?" Ezra begged her to continue. He moved closer towards her, taking her hand hoping the gesture would make her go on. "Aria, what is it?" He whispered again.

"Nothing." Aria shook her head, pulling her hands from his grasp.

She knew she shouldn't have come. She knew this was going to happen. She was falling for him all over again and the pain was even worse this time. At least when she was on the streets she knew he was safe, but being near him, lying to his face was too hard.

She wanted to tell him the truth, to explain her last couple of years away and have him hold her like she had dreamt about, but it would only hurt everyone. She needed to leave him; she needed to stop this before it got any worse.

"Can we just be done for the day?" Aria questioned, not waiting for a response as she began to shuffle her papers into a disorganized crumpled mess and shakily shove them into her purse as she stood to her feet.

"Aria please…" Ezra stood, watching her frantically move forgetting the coffee cup and library book on the desk as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I need to get home before the weather gets bad." Aria excused as her hair fell into her face, her head down.

Ezra was quick to catch up to her, hearing her excuse to leave. The weather had gotten considerably colder outside as he thought about what she had just revealed to him. They were almost to the front door; he couldn't let her walk out.

"You walked here?" Ezra replied shocked, but Aria didn't respond. "Aria, wait, please." Ezra grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around. He couldn't allow her to walk home in this cold weather it wasn't healthy. "I'm sorry I-" He pleaded.

"Just stop!" Aria shouted, she didn't care that the few people in the library could hear; she just wanted him to leave her alone. She let her raised hands fall to her sides as silence fell over them.

Ezra couldn't care less about her reasoning behind her leaving and then returning. He couldn't care less about her defensive attitude towards him. He couldn't even care less about her not turning in the assignments they had completed. He just wanted her safe, and walking home in the cold was only going to make her sick.

"Can I at least drive you home?" He calmly asked, motioning towards the door.

Aria crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. She was still mad at him, mad at herself for coming, but she really didn't want to walk to Spencer's in the cold. The walk to the library had been enough for her hands to get numb; she didn't want to know what would happen on her way back to Spencer's feeling the drop in temperature from the door a few feet away.

"I'm staying at Spencer's for the afternoon." She replied, turning around and walking towards the door, Ezra following behind.

{EZRIA}

The drive to Spencer's was silent, no radio, no talking, Ezra just drove when Aria motioned with her fingers which way to turn. Aria kept her eyes trained out the window, Ezra still drove the silver car, the one he had picked her up in during the rain that night long ago and the memory was fresh in her mind.

The sky was a cloudy grey, it wasn't cold enough to snow, but the weather was cold. She was thankful for the heat radiating through the vents. She motioned with her hand to turn left, she could see Spencer's house a few blocks down.

Unbuckling her seatbelt, she picked up her bag and grabbed the door handle. Ezra watched confused, and started to slow down the vehicle, wondering what she was doing.

"You can just park here and I can walk the rest of the way." She informed him, but he hadn't stopped the car. "That way no one sees me getting out of your car." She explained, but waiting for him to stop, but he didn't.

"Nah," Ezra moved forward. He glanced around at the neighbouring houses, not seeing anyone outside. "I doubt anyone's even out here, it looks like it's going to snow." He shrugged, as an excuse.

"In Rosewood?" Aria chuckled; trying to remember the last time the school had closed for a snow day. "Yeah right." She laughed again. "This is it." She pointed towards Spencer's porch.

Ezra stopped the car and looked in the driveway, there were no cars and lights appeared to be off in the main part of the house.

"Doesn't look like anyone's home." He observed, not knowing Emily had parked her car in the closed garage around the side. "Do you want me to stay with you until someone arrives?" He offered, not wanting her to be alone.

"I'm good." Aria nodded. "Spencer's probably just over at Toby's. Her parents and sister are out of town." She lied. She didn't want him walking her to the door, possibly seeing Luc and hearing him if he had woken up from his nap.

"Okay." Ezra sighed, he could tell Aria wasn't going to budge on the issue. Aria pulled on the door handle, hearing the door unlock as she began to push it open. "Aria," He called to her. She turned towards him, their eyes meeting and he suddenly grew nervous. "I did have a good time." He sincerely spoke. "I do want to help you with your work." He detailed, hoping she would agree to another session.

Aria took a deep breath, she wasn't sure if meeting him outside the classroom was a good idea again. "It was nice." Aria agreed, smiling. She hadn't given him a yes, but she hadn't given him a no either. Silence fell over them and Aria shivered from the cold blowing in through the open door. "I should head inside." She pointed towards the door. "Thanks for the help." She acknowledged, stepping out onto the driveway.

She shut the car door and rounded the front as he watched her walk away, but he couldn't let her leave with knowing how he truly felt for her. He made haste to unbuckle his seatbelt, fumbling with the red button before tearing it from aross his chest. Opening the door car, Aria turned around at the sound and saw him standing tall behind it.

He swallowed his nerves as he walked around the driver's side door and towards her as she looked around to see if anyone was watching, but no one was out. She too swallowed her nerves as she suddenly felt him stand before her.

"I'm sorry for pushing you. I just-"

"If you're going to keep handing out apologies you should buy them in bulk." She cut him off; not realizing how harsh the words had been until she said them out loud.

"I-" He started again.

"No," She shook her head. "I'm sorry too." She expressed, looking down at her feet. "I know I screwed things up." Embarrassed, wondering just how much deeper into this mess should could possibly make for herself. "I'm sorry I never called you," She spoke quickly. "But it was just too much." She stated truthfully.

He watched her keep her head down, her hair falling into her eyes so he couldn't see her, but the pain in her voice, he knew was the truth. "I know there is more to what's going on." He stated, her head raised and she opened her mouth, but he held up his hands to stop her. "I know you can't or you won't tell me," he paused. "But I'm here for you." He nodded towards her, smiling. "I saw the children's book you were going to sign out and-"

"It was for a babysitting." She blurted out, her eyes widening. She hadn't even thought he would notice it on the desk.

"Oh…" He simply replied.

"Yeah, I watch a little boy on the weekends sometimes." She swayed in the cold air. "What did you think was going on?" She gave a laugh, trying to gage what he knew or thought he knew.

"Nothing…" He laughed; he really didn't know what he was thinking. "Like I said," He stood a step closer to her. "I'm here for you." He whispered, grabbing her shoulders. "All I want is for you to be happy." He restated.

She gulped down her fears as she darted her eyes over his face and watched as he leaned into her. It was a short kiss; it was so right.

Aria was stunned at the boldness it took for him to do that out in the open, but it renewed something within herself. She felt whole.

He pulled away opening his eyes, it had felt so right. He wanted to lean in for another one, but the look on her face had him questioning whether it had been the right thing. He let his arms fall to his sides as he backed away. Still she hadn't spoken.

"I still love you." He whispered, waiting for her to say something, but all she did was nod and smile. He backed up and got into his car, watching as she turned away.

{EZRIA}

Aria could hear Ezra drive away as she slowly pulled the door handle open in case Luca was still asleep. From the kitchen Aria spotted Luca's sleeping form on the blankets in the living room while her three friends had their eyes out the window, hidden behind the curtain.

"You can stop hiding now." Aria laughed, under her breath. "I know you were watching for the window." She closed the door behind her and placed her purse down on the island.

The three girls did their best to make it look like they hadn't been looking, Hanna letting go of the curtain, Emily looking over at Luc and Spencer smiling towards Aria.

"He kissed you." Hanna emphasized, like Aria hadn't known it.

"He said he still loves you." Emily smiled, walking towards the island and sitting on the seat.

"Are you going to see him again?" Spencer smirked, crossing her arms as she stared at Aria.

"Well yeah," Aria made duh sound. "In class…" She tucked some hair behind her ear as she opened Spencer's fridge for drink.

"I mean, when you don't have to call him Mr. Fitz." Spencer clarified, drawling out his last name.

"I don't know…" Aria shrugged, biting her lip as she kept her eyes on the contents in the fridge. Arias choose a bottle of flavored water on the second shelf. She let the door swing closed as she cracked the seal on her drink and cringed at the noise the door made. Thankfully Luc didn't wake; he just turned over onto his side, kicking the covers in the process.

"Did Luc eat already?" Aria asked, not noticing the pot and dirty dishes in the sink.

"Don't try to change the subject." Hanna rolled her eyes, walking to the counter next to Emily.

"Well do you want to see him again?" Emily pushed.

"He kissed you." Hanna restated, giggling.

Aria took a sip of her water.

"Yes," Aria set the bottle down on the table. "He did Han. I know." Aria's closed her drink and started walking around the counter. "But Rosewood is a small town; it's too risky." Aria shuffled to the couch. "I'm surprised we got away with meeting at the library and him giving me that kiss in your driveway." She rambled on, motioned towards Spencer who took the seat beside her.

Emily stood behind the couch, leaning against it as Hanna took the other couch across the room. The girls could hear the distress in Aria's voice, and the confusion of the situation.

"Well apparently you used to do that a lot with him." Hanna whined, seeing how she wasn't getting through to Aria.

Spencer, and Emily turned to Hanna, mouths opened as Aria too glanced at Hanna, her cheeks turning red. "What? She had Luca somehow." Hanna shrugged, like it was heard every day.

Spencer rolled her eyes at her blonde friend. Turning towards Aria she grabbed her attention by taking her hands.

"Stop thinking about what everyone wants of you." She stared Aria in the eyes, a no-nonsense look on her face. "In the end it's your decision." Spencer spoke seriously.

"I know…" Aria took a deep breath and nodded her understanding.

"What's going to happen when Luc gets older and he wants to meet Ezra?" Spencer hoped this question would help Aria figure out a path to take.

"I talked to my mom about it, but she thinks it's a bad idea. I told you guys, he could go to jail." Aria glanced between her friends.

"That was your mom's suggestion." Emily replied. "I know what it's like to have your dad gone most of the time it's hard." She expressed, with her dad in the army he was seldom home.

"Yeah, when my dad moved out all I wanted to do was to see him." Hanna stated, Aria turning towards. "That is until I found out he cheated on my mom, but-"

"Anyways…" Spencer cut off the rambling girl, seeing how they were headed in a different direction. "Do you- it's your choice. Do you want Ezra to know?" Spencer clarified, as specific as she could be.

"I want to tell him. I really do. I just-" Aria took a deep breath, her nagging thoughts in the back of her head.

"Then just sleep on it." Spencer suggested. "Maybe things will change in a few days." She advised.

Aria gave another nod, having friends was the perks of coming home. Maybe sleeping on it would help.

**Yay! Ezria kissed! I know your all awaiting the chapter where Aria tells Ezra about Luca and I promise it is coming soon. The next chapter is an ****insight into Aria's life over the passed few years and it will have a major impact on the way she feels about telling Ezra. So be on the lookout for chapter 7! **

**P.S. I can't believe that I'm only ten away from 100 reviews! I'm not one to request reviews, but it would make my day if I could make it to 100 or over by the time I post chapter 7. Thank you all for your support!**

**PLEASE continue to REVIEW they help me know what your thoughts and ideas are about the story. If you leave me a review with your ****screen name whether your signed in or not I will be more than happy to reply. :)**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home:**

**((**Italics is flashbacks, regular text is the present.**))**

_"How far will this take me?" Aria asked, rocking back and forth in her tennis shoes. __"Well it depends on where you want to go." The gray haired lady responded rather annoyed. __"It doesn't matter." Aria shook her head. "Anywhere but here." She stated, biting her lip again. She pulled on the end of her sleeves, glancing at the travel maps and time clocks behind the desk._

{PLL}

_"I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help you and Luc." Aria heard her grandma's voice say, her eyes trained on the unknown sky. __"No grandma." Aria turned towards her grandma, dropping her feet, which were once under her to the edge to swing. Making room for her grandma, she carried in hand two cups of coffee and offered one to Aria. "You've done more for me in this last year than I could have asked for." Aria swallowed the lump forming in her throat._

{PLL}

_"That's a shame." Nikki frowned. "I'm in need of a waitress and I was hoping you could help out." She explained, gazing at the young girl before her, watching her scarf down the toast she dipped a large chunk into her soup._

{PLL}

_"You look familiar." The man suddenly spoke, his head tilting as he stared up at her. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked, his gaze becoming more of a stare down. __"No." Aria shook her head, hoping he would stop. "I don't think so." She shrugged, turning on her feet and starting to walk away. ____ "Aria. Right?" The man's voice stopped her. _

{PLL}

_"They are here, Aria." The door swung open, a panicked Nikki blurted out the warning. Aria looked up from the book and saw the frazzled look upon her face. "They know about you and Luc." She detailed._

{PLL}

_"Come with us." The guy stated, rather than asked. __"Why?" Aria put up her defense again. "Where?" She questioned, gripping the handle of the door tightly. __"You want a shelter over your head and food?" The girl spoke for the first time, leaving Aria's questions unanswered. _

{PLL}

Punching in the numbers, she held the phone to her ear and waited for the familiar voice to pick up. "Hello?" A gruff voice answered. Aria opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly the words wouldn't come out. She heard the honking of a horn over the line and a short time later a siren. Aria closed her eyes; maybe she should just hang up she thought. "I can hear you breathing…" The guy's voice grew agitated.

{PLL}

"Mike I-" Aria began, walking towards him, but stopped when he spoke. "No," He said in a harsh whisper. "You weren't even going to tell anyone. You weren't even going to say goodbye, were you?" He questioned. Aria looked down at the carpet, she wasn't planning on leaving for good. She didn't even know if she going to go back there, but to be honest she wanted to keep her options open.

_**PLEASE REVIEW & I WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**_


	7. Sleepless Dreams

**A/N: Hello! With each chapter I post, I'm amazed at the responses. 107 reviews, 17 coming from last chapter. I have the next ten chapters outlined, but I still need to write out the dialogue so I will try to keep this story on the same writing schedule. ****T****hank you to my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya for all your help. Thank you everyone who continues to READ, REVIEW, FOLLOW, AND FAVORITE this story. The wait is over, here is chapter 7. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

******I also have a Twitter account where you can leave me reviews atHeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars. I only own the characters in which I create.**

**Side Note: **The italics in the story are memories, the regular text is the present.

**Finding Home**

**Chapter Seven: Sleepless Dreams**

❡Voices tell me I should carry on❡

But I am swimming in an ocean all alone

Baby, my baby

It's written on your face

You still wonder if we made a big mistake

I'd try to go on like I never knew you

I'm awake but my world is half asleep

I pray for this heart to be unbroken

❡But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete❡

{Incomplete by Backstreet Boys}

_Walking through the double doors of the Rosewood Bus Station, in the middle of the night. Aria stood with an orange backpack slung over her shoulder, some clothes, food, and two pictures of her friends and family stuffed inside. Tossing her dark curls over her shoulders in search of the ticket booth, she pushed passed the crowd of people walking passed her._

_Nervous, she took a few deep breaths, still determined to follow through with her plan. She made her way to the line and began to tap her foot; constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure her parents hadn't somehow followed her._

_The line moved rather quickly, the shuffling of people and static speaker system blaring above her head keeping her alert. She felt knots in her stomach, a hole was growing deeper in her heart with every passing minute, but she knew this was her only option._

_She placed a hand on her still flat stomach and rubbed it, she was never going to let them hurt her or her child. She was not going to give her parents the chance of destroying her life, and that included her baby's and Ezra's too._

_Finally it was Aria's turn, she stuffed her hand into her pockets retrieving the little money she had with her, wishing she had saved more. Biting her lower lip, she saw the old woman behind the counter eye her up and down. She may be small, but she was stubborn and she had to get out of Rosewood one-way or the other._

_"How far will this take me?" Aria asked, rocking back and forth in her tennis shoes._

_"Well it depends on where you want to go." The gray haired lady responded rather annoyed._

_"It doesn't matter." Aria shook her head. "Anywhere but here." She stated, biting her lip again. She pulled on the end of her sleeves, glancing at the travel maps and time clocks behind the desk._

_The grey haired woman clicked a few keys on her keyboard and glanced at her computer screen. She glanced at the 5'2 girl before her and wondered what she was running from. She was tempted to ask, but knowing that wasn't her job and with a long line behind her she just wanted her coffee break so she didn't ask._

_"There is a bus leaving for Anderson County in twenty minutes." The woman offered._

_"I'll take it." Aria snapped her head back to the woman. Nodding her head, she pushed the bills through the slot and in exchange she received a bus ticket marked Anderson County. If she remembered correctly, her grandma lived there and her parents never got around to see her much. The perfect place to hide out, she waved the ticket back-n-forth like a fan in front of her._

_"Have a safe trip." The woman smiled, and for the first time she meant it._

_"Thank you." Aria smiled back, she turned to the side and sat in one of the plastic chairs by the wall waiting the now fifteen minutes for her bus to arrive. In fifteen minutes she would be out of Rosewood, hopefully for good._

_{EZRIA}_

_The sun was just beginning to set, the moon already visible in the sky as Aria swung on the porch swing of her grandma's old house. The creaky noise from the swing and crickets soothed her running thoughts as she looked over the surrounding houses. Some still with lights on others gone to bed for the evening. Anderson County had been a great escape, but the time had come for her to be moving on._

_"I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help you and Luc." Aria heard her grandma's voice say, her eyes trained on the unknown sky._

_"No grandma." Aria turned towards her grandma, dropping her feet, which were once under her to the edge to swing. Making room for her grandma, she carried in hand two cups of coffee and offered one to Aria. "You've done more for me in this last year than I could have asked for." Aria swallowed the lump forming in her throat._

_Glancing down upon hearing the gurgling sounds of Luc, she saw him lying on his blanket, kicking his feet up in the air. Dressed in his light blue onesie, he appeared to be as happy and content as Aria, but deep down inside, Aria was wondering what was ahead for her._

_"Why don't you just try and stay?" Aria's grandma whined, pulling Aria's attention back to her. Aria could see the worry written across her face. Hoping to ease her grandma's distress, she placed a hand upon hers' and gave it a squeeze. "Maybe I can talk to your mother and father about what happened." She offered, trying desperately to make her granddaughter stay._

_Letting her hand slip down to her lap, Aria bit her lip and shook her head._

_"It wouldn't do any good." She gave a sigh and glanced back at the sky, the sun now almost completely gone and the darkness consuming the area. Aria took a sip of her coffee, her nails digging at the chipped paint of the mug. "I can't go back with them. They can't know I was here." Aria spoke seriously, glancing deep into her grandma's eyes, knowing she understood as she nodded their secret agreement. "Everything is screwed up." Aria added, giving a small eye roll and laugh in responds._

_"Well where are you going?" Her grandma inquired, she had been there for Aria for the past year she cared for her and her great grandson dearly. "Who is going to watch over Luc?" She pondered further, the worried expression on her face reappearing._

_"I'm not sure," Aria shrugged. "But I can't stay here." Aria swallowed. "Luc and I will make it." Aria nodded, smiling a look of confidence in her eyes. "We will." She reassured._

_{EZRIA}_

_The subway tram came to a screeching halt, jolting Aria from her half sleeping form as she lurched forward. Luc sat fussy on Aria's lap, the toddler obviously hungry and tired from lack of sleep and food. She sniffed the musty air and stood with a yawn following the few people who were getting off at the stop down off the subway._

_Aria looked both ways before deciding up the south stairs, meeting the world above with flashing lights and dark skies. Holding Luc closer to her, Aria maneuvered her way through the crowds of people still heightened by the nightlife of the city._

_Staring up at the big flashing sign above the glass window, Aria peeked inside and saw the light on and someone inside. The sign read open so she ventured inside with what little money she had left._

_"Shh…" Aria hushed Luca's cries, bouncing him in her arms as the door behind her closed. "Luc please…" Aria begged. "It's okay…" She soothed, looking around she saw no customers and turned back for the door, figuring it was closing time._

_"You can stay." A voice caught Aria's ears. Turning towards the voice, she saw a woman with a beehive due and plaid apron washing down the front counter. "Take a seat anywhere you like." The woman smiled, motioning around the empty booths._

_Aria gave a smile and nod, quickly shuffling her feet towards a corner booth. She plopped down into the blue cushion, setting Luca down next to her on the inside, between herself and her orange backpack. Taking a laminate menu from behind the condiments, she opened and scanned the prices, already knowing she couldn't afford much._

_Luca craving food, attention, and sleep, tried desperately to grab the menu from his mother's grasp resulting in both of them to become agitated._

_"Stop it." Aria gritted her teeth, starring down at the little boy. "Luc, no!" Aria yanked the menu from his hands. "Be a good boy…" Aria dumped the creamers out of the bowl in front of him. "Here…play with these." Aria started building the blocks up into a tower, hoping it would divert his attention long enough until their food arrived._

_The waitress from earlier stood beside the table, waiting patiently for Aria to notice her. When Aria saw Luca playing with the creamers she gave a sigh and turned, smiling sheepishly when she noticed the woman._

_"Looks like the little guy is giving you a rough time?" The woman said in small talk, pointing towards Luc with her pen._

_"Yeah," Aria chuckled. "He's just hungry." Aria tucked a strand of greasy hair behind her ear and folded the menu back up. "Can I have a glass of warm milk and toast?" Aria asked, folding her arms on the table._

_"Sure thing." The waitress jotted down the order and left._

_Luca's attention was beginning to drift away from the creamers as he looked at Aria and let out a whimper. He rubbed his eyes as they started to water again. He started to stand on the cushion, stopping when Aria gently pushed him back down onto his butt._

_"Just play with these…" She redirected him. "Mommy's getting you some milk, hold on." Aria took a deep breath._

_The waitress heard the conversation from across the room as she placed a glass of warm milk, two plates of toast, a bowl and cup of chicken noodle soup, and two cups of coffee on a tray. She had lived in Philly long enough to know the people who struggle and she could tell Aria was one of them._

_"What's his name?" The waitress asked, approaching the table. She set down the tray of food and drinks._

_"This is Luc. I'm Aria." Aria spoke nervously, licking her lips._

_"I'm Nikki." Nikki acknowledged, placing the milk and toast and cup of chicken noodle soup in front of Luc. "I own the place." She detailed, placing the coffee, toast, and bowl chicken noodle soup in front of Aria._

_"Must be nice to own your own place." Aria nodded, but eyeing the soups and coffee she began to protest. "I didn't ord-"_

_"It's on the house." Nikki made no move to budge._

_"Thank you." Aria closed her gaping mouth, swallowing her embarrassment as she looked down into the steaming bowl in front of her._

_Nikki noticed the obvious embarrassment she had caused Aria as she placed the empty tray on the next booth over. She saw the way Aria pushed the cup of soup away from Luca so it could cool and he wouldn't get burned. Also the way she broke the bread into tiny pieces for him, watching the way he stuffed them hurriedly into his mouth._

_"We're basically closed for the night, mind if I join you?" Nikki asked, already scooting into the other side of the booth, her coffee in hand._

_"Go right ahead." Aria said, un-phased by Nikki's automatic slide into the booth. She was too preoccupied with getting Luc situated and eating._

_"So are you just passing through?" Nikki made small talk as Aria picked up her soupspoon and blew on the hot liquid._

_"Yeah," Aria nodded. "I guess you could say that." She shrugged after swallowing the warm broth and noodles._

_"That's a shame." Nikki frowned. "I'm in need of a waitress and I was hoping you could help out." She explained, gazing at the young girl before her, watching her scarf down the toast she dipped a large chunk into her soup._

_"Really?" Aria asked, her eyes wide, her mouth full of food. Covering her mouth, she swallowed. "But you don't even know me?" Aria questioned._

_"I know what it's like to be on your own." Nikki shrugged._

_"Oh I'm not-" Aria began to protest._

_"Of course you would get free meals and there is a room in the back where you can keep Luca during the day. I'd even pay you $7 an hour, plus tips." Nikki took a sip of her coffee, watching Aria's eyes bug out._

_"I-I don't know what to say?" Aria stuttered, a smile growing quickly._

_"How about a yes?" Nikki replied._

_"Yes." Aria nearly shouted. "Thank you…thank you so much." Aria nearly fainted at the prospects of having a job._

_{EZRIA}_

_Aria removed the coffee pot from the hot plate and proceeded to move about the room, glancing at the coffee cups scattered around customer's tables. She had just checked on Luca a few minutes ago, finding him sleeping content under the blankets on the makeshift bed in the back. Aria could hear the raspiness in his voice, figuring it was just another cold; she planned on going to the drugstore to pick up a bottle of children's medicine. It meant money coming out of her pay check, but Luc was her number one priority._

_Working here at the diner for about three months now, Aria was starting to get the hang of reading the customers and knowing their orders. Approaching a table where a man in a dark grey suite sat reading the paper, his eggs and bacon half eaten and his coffee cup empty, she poured into the cup._

_Aria figured the man was a lawyer, she loved making up stories for the people who sat at her tables. The man looked up at her, giving her a smile in which she returned. A friendly gesture meant better tips._

_"You look familiar." The man suddenly spoke, his head tilting as he stared up at her. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked, his gaze becoming more of a stare down._

_"No." Aria shook her head, hoping he would stop. "I don't think so." She shrugged, turning on her feet and starting to walk away._

_"Aria. Right?" The man's voice stopped her. With her back to the man, she could feel his eyes on her. She froze, her grip on the handle of the coffee pot tighter as she swallowed her fears._

_"How do you-" She turned around, furrowing her eyes as she walked back over to his table._

_"I've been looking for you." He smirked, dabbing his napkin over his mouth. "You and your son." He gave a smudge expression. Aria opened her mouth, but no words came out. "Luc is it?" The man opened his suite jacket and crossed his arm into his pocket. "Your dad-" He began._

_"My dad is the reason I'm here." Aria was quick to cut him off, her voice rising at the mention of him. He had the nerve to spy on her? To have some private investigator find her? Aria didn't have time to be afraid; she was too busy being angry._

_"You can't keep running. You're putting your boy in danger by running around the streets." The detective motioned towards the world outside the window._

_"We are just fine on our own." Aria's voice grew cold and serious._

_"You really think working here is going to support you and Luc?" The man gave a laugh under his breath. "You need help," He pointed towards her. "Help that child services can give you." He pushed a card towards the end of the table. Glancing at it, Aria saw the company name, address, and phone number to Child Services. She tried her best to hide her growing fear, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat and trying to calm her racing heart._

_"No!" Aria raised her voice, the tables in the surrounding area quitting at the sudden outburst. "No, we don't need help so just finish your meal and leave me alone." Aria's voice dropped, her eyes blazing, and stature as tall as she could get. "Leave us alone!" She restated, yelling._

_Getting her point across, Aria spun on her heels and loudly placed the coffee pot on the counter between two customers as she stalked off towards the bathroom. Once inside she let it all out, she kicked the stall door with her shoe several times, letting a frustrated groan escape her throat, her hands raising in fists as she pounded them on the stall walls and then finally dropped to her knees._

_Sliding down onto the tile floor, tears sprung to her eye, they were not going to take Luc from her. She crumpled up into a ball, her back against the stall, her head between her knees as tears streamed down her face, her stomach hurting from the cramping ache and torn thoughts of Luca being taken from her._

_{EZRIA}_

_Aria sat in the tiny back room with Luca on her lap, a children's book placed in front of the two as Aria read to him the story of the big red dog and the little blonde girl._

_"They are here, Aria." The door swung open, a panicked Nikki blurted out the warning. Aria looked up from the book and saw the frazzled look upon her face. "They know about you and Luc." She detailed._

_Aria's heart began to pound in her chest, she knew who they were and what they wanted. Closing the book and placing Luc on the bed sheets Aria stood and retrieved the orange backpack from under the bed._

_"I-I have to leave." Aria stuttered, stuffing clothes into the bag._

_"How?" Nikki raised her hands. Looking back outside she could see the three people sitting in the booth by the front door, the detective Aria had shouted at earlier another man and a woman sitting across from him. "They are sitting in the booth by the door." Nikki peered back inside, closing the door and leaning against it._

_"I will sneak out the back." Aria responded, not bothering to look up as she continued to place her book and cash into her bag._

_"What do I tell them?" Nikki questioned, realizing she was a part of this. "They are with child-services, Aria." Nikki explained as if Aria didn't know that. It was the whole reason she was leaving._

_"I don't know…" Aria grumbled. "Make something up." She shrugged, looking around the room for Luca's shoes._

_"I can't do that…" Nikki groaned, she wasn't a good liar. "It's not that simple, they know I know you're here working. They can probably somehow tell we are back here. Anything I tell them they'll know is a lie." Nikki rambled, ringing her hands together._

_"I'm not going to let them take Luc for me." Aria stated clearly, finding Luc's shoes across the room where he had thrown them earlier._

_"They won't." Nikki shook her head; she didn't want to see Aria and Luc on the run._

_Aria swiftly crossed the room back over to where Luc sat and began to untie the knots in the laces before guiding Luc's feet into the shoes. The little boy just sat curiously listening to the conversation going on between the two, although he was too young to understand._

_"Yes, they will." Aria restated, stubbornly. "I'm only seventeen, living on the streets with a baby. They will put us into a group home. I will be separated from Luc and I will never see him again." Aria's voice grew shaky as she looked at the door, hoping they weren't being too loud to where people outside could hear._

_"They won't." Nikki spoke quickly after. "They will take you home to your parents." She explained, hoping to convince her friend it wasn't as bad she thought._

_"Like that's any better." Aria rolled her eyes with a laugh. She untied the waitress apron from around her waist and removed her work t-shirt, quickly replacing it with her old t-shirt and purple hoodie._

_Nikki sighed, watching Aria do all of this. She had grown to like Aria and hated to see her go. She hated to think of Luc out there without a shelter or food, at least here Aria had a job._

_"You're not on the streets, you have a job and a roof over your head." Nikki explained to Aria, stepping closer to the young girl._

_"You just have to trust me on this." Aria pleaded, she swung her bag over her shoulder and picked up Luc. "Please…" Aria nodded, staring Nikki in the eyes. "Just keep an eye on them until I sneak out the back. Once I'm gone your off the hook." Aria shook her head, taking a deep breath._

_Nikki bit her lip and without hesitation pulled the two into a tight hug. Aria let the woman hold her close, her eyes closing as she thought of a plan of where to go. To be honest she wasn't sure, she just knew she couldn't stay._

_"Be safe out there…" Nikki whispered. Aria nodded; pulling away she gave a weak smile and watched as Nikki opened the door. Giving one finally look at the duet she closed the door and walked towards her customers hoping Aria and Luc would be able to get away without the trio by the door finding out she had left._

_{EZRIA}_

_The sky was pitch black, the only light radiating off the tall parking lot lights in orange streaks. The rain was coming down in buckets, the asphalt under Aria's shoes flooding the surrounding area. Holding Luca as close as possible, she tried her best to shield the rain from his body. Weaving through the maze of parked cars, Aria tried the handles of three backseat car cars before finally finding a van left unlocked._

_Not noticing the couple rounding the street corner with an umbrella, Aria left the door wide open as she placed Luca in the seat and was proceeding to remove her bag. She climbed in and was just closing the door when a hand caught it in mid-air._

_"Woah!" The guy's voice startled, Aria. "What do you think you're doing?" He questioned, ducking down to get a better look at Aria and Luc._

_"What do you want?" Aria covered Luca from his line of sight, her voice growing defensive and edgy._

_"Answering a question with a question." The guy laughed over a loud rumble of thunder followed by a flash of lightening which brightened up the features of the guy._

_He had straggly black hair and wore a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt. His eyes were green and his skin as white as Aria's, he was skinny and appeared tall, taller than Aria anyways._

_"You could get arrested you know that right?" The guy smirked; obviously knowing this wasn't Aria's car._

_"Look," Aria paused, glancing back at Luc before returning to look at the guy. "I will be out of here before morning. I just need to keep my son out of the rain." She quickly stated, giving a gruff sigh as she motioned towards Luc behind her._

_She was getting ready to close the door on the two people. She could careless by her actions or the prospects of getting caught she just needed to keep Luc safe._

_"Come with us." The guy stated, rather than asked. He looked back at his friend, the girl was the guy's height maybe a little shorter with the same green eyes but her hair was red and frizzy. She too wore a jacket, hers' jean and a shirt with a quote written on the front, but Aria couldn't read it in the dark._

_"Why?" Aria put up her defence again. "Where?" She questioned, gripping the handle of the door tightly._

_"You want a shelter over your head and food?" The girl spoke for the first time, leaving Aria's questions unanswered._

_"Yeah…" Aria drawled out, still on edge about going with two complete strangers. Anything was better than the car and she really doubted they would try to pull anything; they appeared as if they knew how she felt._

_Stepping away from the car door, Aria climbed out and putting her bag over her shoulder before picking up Luca. They made room under the small umbrella really made for one as they started walking, to where Aria didn't know._

_"I'm Jeremy and this Mallory." Jeremy pointed towards the red head holding the umbrella. She gave a smile as Aria nodded and covered Luc with her hoodie, trying to keep his shivering form warm against her body._

_"Aria…" Aria replied._

_She hoped the walk wasn't much farther as she kept in step with the two, passing by cars that honked and signalled their desire to get out of the rain much like the four of them._

_They soon lead her to a tall brick building with a balcony on the side building where the windows were located. A set of stairs lead from the bottom to the top as Jeremy took off into the rain and began to climb. Mallory motioned for Aria to follow her to the front door as they waited for Jeremy to come and unlock it._

_Aria followed close behind Mallory, looking around the dingy hallways as they travelled up to the top level. The place was defiantly on the shady part of town, the lights buzzed and flickered above them and the walls were a faded yellow, the smell wasn't the best either. At the end of the hall, the group stopped and waited as Jeremy knocked on the door and flipped his hair back._

_The door opened, revealing a crash-pad of kids Aria's age and older. Some were passed out on the floor, others playing card games by the window, glancing up to see her and Luc who was on the verge of sleeping in her arms. An old radio sat in the corner playing to the static voices of the weather station. The lighting was terrible, just barely visible so you could step around the kids sleeping on the floor with blankets draped over them, but at least it was dry inside._

_"Let's get you dried off and get you some food." Mallory stepped around a couple of kids on the floor, motioning for Aria to follow. Aria did the same, balancing Luc in her arms as she looked down to make sure she didn't kick anyone._

_The bathroom was very tiny, just big enough for standing room as Aria set Luca down on the floor removed his wet clothes, replacing them with his semi dry ones from inside her backpack. Mallory knocked on the door, peaking inside to see Aria changing Luc. Aria looked at the girl who closed the door behind her, a towel in hand that she handed to Aria._

_"Thanks." Aria smiled, running it over Luc's hair to at least get it damp instead of plastered to his forehead. His eyes were drooping to the point of passing out right then and there he was so tired._

_Mallory leaned against the porcelain sink, watching Aria care for Luca before running the towel over her own long hair, her curls now straight from the rain. Aria glanced up at Mallory, not used to the staring she diverted her eyes back to folding Luc's wet clothes, ringing them out in the dirty bathtub that had a upside down bucket in it._

_Once Aria was done, she stood to her feet handing the towel back to Mallory who in exchange held her fisted hand out to Aria._

_"Here…take these." Mallory replied, letting the contents in her hand frop into Aria. Looking down, she saw the two small pills and just stared at them._

_"I don't-" Aria shook her head._

_"They will help you sleep." Mallory cut her off. "I promise." She nodded for Aria to take them. Aria looked up at her, noticing the similar look in her eyes she wore._

_"Thanks." Aria simply stated._

_"No problem." Mallory replied, stepping away from the sink._

_Aria turned on the faucet and scooped a handful of water into her mouth before popping the two pills into her mouth. Throwing her head back she swallowed them down wiping her mouth as she turned off the water._

_"Cute kid." Mallory nodded down to Luc who was curled up on the tile floor, his head resting on Aria's orange backpack._

_Aria turned around, looking down at Luca she smiled seeing Ezra in the way his hair fell into his eyes._

_"His names Luc." Aria folded her arms over her chest._

_"So you running?" Mallory asked, doing the same as Aria as she caught her attention._

_"Yeah." Aria nodded slowly, her eyes meeting the ground._

_"Tell me about it." Mallory laughed under her breath. "We all have stories so we all just stick together here." Mallory sighed._

_"Everyone?" Aria looked towards the closed door. All the kids she saw out there were like her in some way or another, she just really hadn't thought of it until now. She bent down and picked up Luc's sleeping form, managing to get her arm around her backpack and onto her back._

_"We are a family." Mallory explained, walking to the door and jiggling the handle until it opened. "You're a part of it now too." She turned back to Aria, looking her straight in the eyes. Aria understood, and to be honest it felt comforting to know there were people who understood her. For once there wasn't anyone judging her or calling her out for running away. These people were just trying to survive like her. She yawned, feeling the effects of the pills kicking in as Mallory lead her to a spot on the floor and gave her an old blanket to cover up with. Holding Luca close, she used her bag as a pillow and wrapped the blanket around them drifting off the sleep._

{EZRIA}

Aria's eyes shot open, the smells from the dream slowly disappearing as she sat up in bed. Looking around, the room was dark, but she was reminded that she in her bedroom. No more car horns honking or the fuzz of the radio, no more musty smells of dirty clothes and food sitting out.

Beside her bed, Aria strained her neck to find Luca sleeping peacefully in his pack-n-play, his teddy tucked under his arm. She fixed the blanket that he had pushed off of himself in his sleep and was thankful when he didn't stir.

Aria pushed her hair out her face and took a deep breath, the memories from her dreams plaguing her mind. The night she left town, staying with her grandma, working in the diner, fleeing from social services, and meeting her friends who soon turned into family.

Resting her head back down on her pillow Aria stared at her ceiling, she was wide-awake now. So much for sleeping on her problems, she thought. Her hand went to her lips, remembering the gentle brush of Ezra's lips upon hers. She wondered what it would be like if Ezra knew the truth. Would they be able to be a family like the one in the story she was reading for his class or would she be stuck here where is now only telling herself she shouldn't have told him?

Sighing, Aria turned on her side, seeing the digital clock on her nightstand slowly changing minute by minute. She closed her eyes, hoping it would help her get back to sleep. She could see Ezra's eyes staring at her, could hear his voice in her ears.

She felt incomplete. She thought about her life on the streets and how easy it was for her to forget her past because out there she didn't have to worry about what the small town of Rosewood would think. Out there she could pretend that she never knew Ezra. She could count dozens of time when she had stayed up all night, the times when the world was half asleep. Staring out the window of the tall building watching the cars go by she could forget about Ezra, but that never happened, he was in her thoughts every moment of everyday.

Aria's eyes popped open, she was never going to get back to sleep now. Not with all these thoughts in her head anyways. Glancing again at the clock, she saw it was nearly 2AM. Quietly, she tore the covers off herself and placed her feet on the cold floor, careful not to wake Luca.

She inched her door closed, cringing as it slowly squeaked. She saw the light off in Mike's room as she tiptoed down the hall, ducking passed her mom's room and down the stairs. Once standing at the end of the landing she looked around for the home phone in the dark and spotted it on the coffee table in the living room.

Punching in the numbers, she held the phone to her ear and waited for the familiar voice to pick up.

"Hello?" A gruff voice answered.

Aria opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly the words wouldn't come out. She heard the honking of a horn over the line and a short time later a siren. Aria closed her eyes; maybe she should just hang up she thought.

"I can hear you breathing…" The guy's voice grew agitated.

"Jeremy?" Aria finally broke the silence on her end.

"Aria? Is that you?" Aria could hear him shuffling as he probably sat up from his sleeping position on the floor.

"Yeah…" She breathed out. "It's me." She gave a weak smile.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, more awake. "Where are you?" He scratched his head, yawning. Not giving her a chance to speak he went on. "Mallory said you left to take Luc to the clinic and you never came back. We've been searching all over the streets. North and South corner, even the library." He rambled.

"I uh…" Aria looked down at her feet. How was she supposed to tell her street family that she was home? After all they had helped her with and how close they had become. "I'm home." She swallowed guilty.

"Home?" Aria could hear the confusion in his voice.

Not wanting to be questioned or relive the whole story all over again, Aria bit her lip and bounced her knee in a nervous habit trying to figure out what to say. Scratching her head, she looked out the window and wished she were staring out at all the flashing lights of Philly instead of the dark street of Rosewood.

"How is Mallory?" Aria pondered, wanting to make sure her friend was taking care of herself. They all had it tough, Aria knew all the kids on the streets took care of each other, but with stories all alike it was hard for them to know what the right kind of care even was.

"She's a-" Jeremy looked around the surrounding Aria, finding the red head passed out beside the radio and a bag of Doritos she had pawned off the shelter earlier that day beside her. "She kind of um…" He stalled. "Passed out you know?" He gave a small laugh.

Aria rolled her eyes. Yeah, passed out meaning she had taken something from her baggie and was sleeping it off next to the radio, like always. Aria sighed, shaking her head. She didn't hear the creak of the stairs as a pair of ears overheard the conversation.

"Look, when are you coming back?" Jeremy grew impatient with the silence. Aria's stomach dropped, she didn't know how to tell him she wasn't coming back. He didn't realize that going home for her didn't mean foster parents or trouble from social services.

"I don't-" She started. "I- I want to go back but-" Aria bit her tongue in frustration. "Jeremy," Aria paused. "Promise me you will watch Mallory." Aria pleaded, her voice a whisper but still very serious.

"I promise." He replied. She let his words hang in the air for a few seconds. He rubbed his tired eyes, feeling sleeping starting to overcome him again. "You take care of the kid. Watch your back." He advised, his way of telling her was going to hang up.

"I will." Aria nodded her head. "Bye." She hung-up after hearing the other line go dead.

Setting the phone back down on the coffee table, Aria froze when the glow of the kitchen light caught her attention. Slowly turning around she saw Mike standing with his arms folded over his chest.

"So you were just going to run away again?" He his facial expression mad and upset as he shook his head.

"Mike I-" Aria began, walking towards him, but stopped when he spoke.

"No," He said in a harsh whisper. "You weren't even going to tell anyone. You weren't even going to say goodbye, were you?" He questioned.

Aria looked down at the carpet, she wasn't planning on leaving for good. She didn't even know if she going to go back there, but to be honest she wanted to keep her options open.

"I'm sorry…" She replied, looking back up at him.

Huffing in anger, he shooed her away and turned his back to her, walking into the kitchen. Once he had the box of cereal out on the counter he looked back at Aria where she had kept the distance.

"Why?" He raised his hands. "Why now? When everything is starting to feel right again?" He clenched his teeth.

"It's not. Nothing is right." Aria shook her head and stalked towards him, the island in the center of the kitchen as the barrier.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike challenged, his voice rising slightly.

Grumbling, Aria glanced at the staircase to make sure they hadn't woken their mom. Looking back at Mike she put her hand to her lips. "Will you keep your voice down; I don't want you to wake up mom." She tugged on the ends of her hoodie. "You don't get it." Aria laughed under breath, furrowing her eyes.

"Then make me." Mike commanded.

"I-I'm not that little girl you knew before Mike." Aria shrugged her shoulders.

He rolled his eyes as he turned to the kitchen cabinet and retrieve two bowls and then dug through the drawer for two spoons. "I have-" Aria pulled the stool from under the island and took a seat. "I have watched and lived things you will never understand and this just doesn't feel like home anymore." Aria detailed honestly.

Mike pushed one of the bowls across the counter to her and did the same with the spoon. With his head in the fridge he spoke, "I may not have lived on the streets like you, but living here alone was a nightmare." He removed the jug of milk from the fridge and placed it on the counter.

"It still is a nightmare…" Aria emphasized, pouring herself some coco puffs into her bowl. "Mom is suffocating me, I'm lying to my friends, I can't even look Ezra in the eyes, and Luc has barely seen me this whole week. I-I can't keep living like this." She rambled, venting out all of her concerns.

Mike took the cereal box from her grasp and poured himself a bowl as Aria reached for the milk and uncapped it. "And running away is better?" He excused. "Luc is sick and leaving will only hurt him." He reminded her.

Aria sighed, as she stirred her cereal around in her bowl, the milk already turning chocolate. She hadn't thought about the conditions of her leaving with Luc still sick. It would be wrong of her to put him back out there.

"Look," Mike cut through her thoughts, taking a mouth full of cereal. "You're my sister, and I'm not one to get all mushy…" He mumbled. "But I promise I will help you." He nodded, waving his spoon towards her. He swallowed and then went on, "I can get mom off your back and if lying is hurting you this much then just tell Ezra the truth. Luc knows you're always here for him and I am too." He gestured towards himself. Aria bit her lip and slouched in her seat, he had a point. "Just please…." He paused. "Don't leave again." He begged.

Through the silence that followed his advice, Aria began to run her options through her head. She took a spoonful of cereal into her mouth as she weighed her choices. She thought about what Mike had said about getting their mom off her back, she had already revealed the truth to her friends and it had gone better than she had expected, plus Luc did know she was there for him even if she didn't get to see him all the time. And then Ezra, he had kissed, and had told her he still loved her.

"Okay," She tapped the bottom of her bowl with her spoon, grabbing Mike's attention. "I will stay for now." She agreed.

"Thank you." He let out deep breath. "I promise," He paused again. "I am here for you." He smiled.

With that being said, the two finished their bowls of cereal and headed back up to their respective beds getting another few hours of sleep before their alarms woke them for school.

**And another chapter bites the dust! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I was one of my favorites to write. I know there was no Ezria in this chapter, but there will be a lot of it in the next chapter. I thought it was important to show Aria's vulnerability towards being home and how easily it would be for her to slip back into her old life. Since being home, nothing has been the way it once was and that is having a big impact on her. Showing you into what she went through over the past few years, I hope it shows that she's changed. Her dealing with these memories is what's going to really effect her decision on whether or not to tell Ezra the truth. **

**PLEASE continue to REVIEW they help me know what your thoughts and ideas are about the story. If you leave me a review with your ****screen name whether your signed in or not I will be more than happy to reply. :)**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home:**

"Please double check that you have brought with you a sleeping bag, pillow, toiletries, clothes, and snacks if needed. Sign-in sheets are located by the gym and please see your individual forms to see which groups you will be following today. Thank you, and have fun." A lady broadcasted over the P.A. System, the machine crackling as it turned off.

{PLL}

"The timer is set for five minutes, after that, we can switch partners." Ezra punched in the numbers on his iPhone. Placing it in his lap he looked around the group and counted the number of students.  
One…two…five…seven…eleven.  
Realizing he had an odd number of students he turned to his right and figured he would just have to participate. Maybe this could be to his advantage, getting Aria to open up. They hadn't spoken since the kiss in front of Spencer's house, he thought.  
"Um…Aria do you mind if I be your partner?" He asked, hoping she would agree to just go along with it.

{PLL}

A loud rumble of thunder was felt beneath their feet as a bright flash pierced through the windows and then it was dark. The lights above them stopped their buzzing and everyone was suddenly silent and in the dark.

{PLL}

"I just got off the phone with my mom, apparently lightening hit the main fuse box by our house and none of us have power for the night." Emily detailed once Aria and Spencer met-up with Hanna and Emily, Caleb not that far behind.  
"Just great," Hanna threw her head back in annoyance. Picking her stuff up off the floor she shuffled towards Aria's stuff and tossed it besides Spencer's who was taking her spot next to Aria. "So there really is no way out of here?" Hanna groaned as she sprawled out on her pillow.  
"Tired of me already Hanna?" Mr. Fitz's asked in sarcasm, as he took a seat on the opposite side of Aria.

{PLL}

"You shouldn't be in here without adult supervision." A voice broke her from her thoughts, making her jump in her chair.  
Turning, she saw the outline of Ezra's face. Tossing the carrot back into her lunch bag she crumpled up the brown bag. She made for her backpack beside her standing up.  
"I thought you didn't see me as a child?" She remarked, ready to walk passed him as he held up his hands.

"Would you go back if you could?" She asked, ringing her hands together under her desk.  
"You mean what if I hadn't spoken to you that day in the bar or if I had left a few minutes earlier?" Ezra knew the unspoken truth to the question.

{PLL}

"So I'm going to propose a question, statement, event, and if it applies to you in any way I want you to step over the line. This isn't to embarrass many one; it's to show that we all deal with issues. Nothing we say in here goes out that door. Understood?" Ezra glanced across the line as everyone agreed.

"Have you or anyone you know ever been homeless?" He questioned.

{PLL}

The world began to spin, as she tried to keep her balance finding Emily's arm closest she squeezed it, resulting it her jumping and glancing at her friend.  
"What is it?" Emily whispered, but didn't get the chance to read the text. Aria clicked the phone's light off and stepped over the line.  
"I-I have to go Mr. Fitz." Aria quickly muttered, raising her hand.  
Ezra stopped in mid question as he turned to her. "Can't this wait Miss Montgomery?" He asked, getting ready to pick up where he had left off.  
"No." Aria responded, shaking her head. "It really can't." She stated more directly, hoping he would see the urgency.

"What has gotten into you?" Ezra whispered, furrowing his eyes in anger.  
"Nothing, now let go." She tried to pull away, but he held on.  
"Aria, I am your teacher." His voice rose for all in the room to hear. "Tell me and I will let you go." He lowered his voice again.

"I'll drive you there." Spencer spoke up, already halfway to the door.  
"I'm coming too." Hanna replied, grabbing Aria's bag.  
"I will go tell your mom and meet you there." Emily too followed.  
"Thanks, Em." Aria said from the doorway.  
Once out the door, Aria walked swiftly towards the parking lot, Spencer and Hanna quickly on her toes. It was hard to keep up, but once outside in the cold rain Spencer wrapped her jacket around Aria's shoulders.  
"It's going to be okay, Aria." She expressed, hoping that would be a promise she could keep.

_**PLEASE REVIEW & I WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**_


	8. Truth Begins and Lies End

**A/N: Another weekend another update! I decided to make a Twitter account for my ****fan fictions, there I will post new chapters, quotes, sneak peeks, and more. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, for you all to subscribe if you have an account. It's at HeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF. ****T****hank you to my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya for all your help. Thank you everyone who continues to READ, REVIEW, FOLLOW, AND FAVORITE this story. The wait is over, here is chapter 8. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars. I only own the characters in which I create.**

**Finding Home**

**Chapter Eight: Truth Begins and Lies End**

❡Do you remember the way it felt?❡

You mean back when we couldn't control ourselves

Remind me

Yeah, remind me

All those things that you used to do

That made me fall in love with you

❡Remind me, oh, baby, remind me❡

{Remind Me by Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood}

Feeling a little claustrophobic, Aria squeezed her pillow closer to her chest as she took a step forward behind Hanna. Dressed in her purple hoodie and white t-white, her outfit clashed against Hanna's designer yellow blazer, black shirt, and matching black skinny jeans. Behind her was Emily with a Rosewood Shark's hoodie, her hair damp from her morning swim, and behind her Spencer with a sophisticated light blue long sleeve shirt, brown vest over top, and dark wash skinny jeans, her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Please double check that you have brought with you a sleeping bag, pillow, toiletries, clothes, and snacks if needed. Sign-in sheets are located by the gym and please see your individual forms to see which groups you will be following today. Thank you, and have fun." A lady broadcasted over the P.A. System, the machine crackling as it turned off.

Inching closer with every step, Hanna threw her head back in boredom. "Why couldn't my mom get me out of this?" She whined.

"Chill Hanna," Emily tried to reason with her over Aria's shoulder. "It's Thursday, we get through tonight, tomorrow is a half-day and then we get a three day weekend. That's Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off." Emily detailed.

"I can count Em." Hanna rolled her eyes, turning around to look at her friend. "This is going to be so boring." She sighed, noticing the long line had moved up.

Manoeuvring through the crowd of students with a clipboard in hand, Ella spotted Aria with her friends. "Girls, don't forget to turn your cell phones off, we want no distractions for the next two days." Her voice serious, as she instructed and then started to walk away.

Aria stopped her mom in her tracks, tugging lightly on her mom's elbow as she spun around. "But what about-"

"Aria, off. Or I will take it from you." Ella's smile deflated, her eyes steely and Aria let go of her mom's arm.

"Fine." She sighed, watching as her mom swiftly walked away.

"What is with your mom? She's like my mom…only tense." Spencer asked, never seeing Aria's mom so wired.

"She get's a little antsy when she's in charge." Aria shrugged, holding the off button down on her phone until her screen went dark. "What groups are you in?" Aria stuffed her phone into her back pocket and looked between her friends who had all formed a circle while the line had come to a halt.

Unfolding their assignment sheets, each girl took a look at their paper and either smiled or scowled at the list.

"I have partner relay with Mrs. Welsh." Hanna frowned. "I didn't even think she could do sports?" Hanna grumbled, folding her paper back up and placing it in her purse.

"I don't have to do the relay. I have two truths and a lie with Mr. Stevenson, whatever that is." Emily smiled, obviously happy at getting out of doing something with the less than fun teacher.

"Why not?" Hanna put her hand on her hip, staring at Emily.

"Because I'm on the swim team." She explained.

"And I'm on the field hockey team." Spencer piped up, since she didn't have to do the relay either."

"Well lucky you. Why can't I be on a sports team?" Hanna pondered.

Her three friends all looked at each other, trying to stifle their laughter as Hanna continued to grow agitated.

"Really Han?" Spencer raised her forehead. Hanna rolled her eyes and fixed her backpack. Lifting her course worksheet back up to her eye-line, Spencer glanced over her first group meeting. "I have role-play against bullying with Mr. Campbell."

"What do you have Aria? And please tell me its partner relay?" Hanna begged.

Laughing under her breath Aria bit her lip as she looked down at her wrinkled paper and shook her head. "Sorry Han, I have letters to our parents with my mom." Aria stated. "Coincidence?" Aria tilted her head towards her friends who all gave a laugh. "And then Five Minutes of Truth with Ez- Mr. Fitz." Aria caught herself, her friends noticing too.

"Nice save." Emily gave her a bump to the ribs.

The line moved again and finally it was Hanna's turn to sign-in followed by Aria, Emily, and then Spencer. The bell to start the day rang as they all left in their separate directions.

"Looks like the fun is about to begin." Hanna grumbled as she turned down the direction she needed to go.

Chuckling lightly, Spencer pulled Hanna in a shoulder hug down the hallway seeing as their classrooms where across from each other.

"You need coffee." Spencer stated.

"I don't live off the stuff like you, but yes, coffee would be nice." Hanna nodded. As Aria began walking to her mom's classroom she could hear the faint conversation that Spencer and Hanna were having.

Aria laughed and rolled her eyes, the warning bell signaled as she turned back in the direction of her mom's room and walked down the hall. Truth Day was about to begin and the lies were about to end.

{EZRIA}

Rain tapped against the windows of Ezra's classroom as Aria shuffled through the doorway. A group of students were already scooting desks against the back corner as others placed chairs in a circle.

From the doorway Aria was thankful Ezra was too busy looking over his itinerary to notice her entrance as she walked over to an empty desk and dumped her bag down on the top. Tucking a loose strand of her hair away from her eyes, Aria bit her bottom lip as she ventured towards the circle of chairs and took a seat, not realizing the only available seat left for Ezra to sit would be next to hers'.

"I'm just going to pair you up with a partner and the rules are to ask your partner anything you want to know about each other. Provided that its school appropriate." Ezra looked up, glancing around the group, his smile lingering on Aria a bit longer than everyone else.

"Come on Fitz, no juicy stuff?" Noel smirked, slouched in his seat.

"I'm afraid that is on your own time Mr. Kahn." Ezra placed his clipboard down on the floor between his chair and Aria's. The two caught eyes for a brief second as he smiled at her, but Aria turned away.

She couldn't do this, not with him in the room. It was too personal. Aria tugged on the long sleeves of her hoodie as she swallowed her nerves and listened to the thunder as it broke through the sound of Ezra talking.

"The timer is set for five minutes, after that, we can switch partners." Ezra punched in the numbers on his iPhone. Placing it in his lap he looked around the group and counted the number of students.

One…two…five…seven…eleven.

Realizing he had an odd number of students he turned to his right and figured he would just have to participate. Maybe this could be to his advantage, getting Aria to open up. They hadn't spoken since the kiss in front of Spencer's house, he thought.

"Um…Aria do you mind if I be your partner?" He asked, hoping she would agree to just go along with it.

Hearing her name and his request, Aria rolled her eyes as she turned to him. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms over her chest and bit down on her tongue.

"I don't want to play…" She acknowledged, shrugging him off.

Ezra swallowed his embarrassment as he tried not to take it personally. She had a hard enough time opening up to her friends, how was she supposed to open up to strangers let alone open up to Ezra again? He already knew her. He knew her favorite food, her favorite song, and book. She couldn't afford to make any slip-ups.

He bent forward in his seat so as to not draw too much attention towards them, even though Aria's statement had caught the ears of the circle.

"I can't make you," Ezra responded in a low tone. "But this is for a grade." He nodded.

Aria's hazel eyes looked up into Ezra's blue as a flash of lighting made them brighten for a second. Followed by a rumble of thunder, Aria too leaned in her seat.

"Telling the truth only does more harm than good." She nodded back towards Ezra, hoping he would get the picture as to just leave her alone. "Don't push me on this." She clenched her teeth together.

Ezra could feel the tension in the room and decided to back off. Running his sweaty palms over his jeans, Ezra turned his attention back to the group. He cleared his throat and picked up the timer in his left hand.

"I guess we will just get started then… on my count turn to the person on you're right and begin." He explained, his thumb hovering over the start button. "And go." He watched the numbers swiftly change.

Around them, Aria and Ezra heard the clamored voices as partners fired questions towards each other, some laughing, and other just simply responding. The feeling of having to be questioned by Ezra was nothing, compared to the awkwardness of being the only one not participating.

"You know telling the truth might just do you some good." Ezra maneuverer his chair so he was facing Aria's side.

The timer was down to three minutes and he hoped maybe she would just give in. He could see the pained expression written across Aria's face as she glanced over her peers talking.

Swallowing down her fears Aria turned her chair slightly and stuffed her hands into her pockets. Looking at the timer in his lap, she saw that they only had three minutes left and pushed away the thoughts of this being wrong.

"Make it fast, we only have three minutes." She remarked.

"Okay, I just thought that after we had-" Ezra paused; glancing around the circle realizing no one was listening. "At Spencer's that we were moving forward." He swallowed, wanting so badly to take her hand in his, but that wouldn't be appropriate.

"Moving forward?" She replied in a harsh whisper. "We can't do that." Aria shook her head vigorously.

"I can't stand the thought of us just leaving this where it ended." He whispered back with just as much intensity, watching as a cloud of something he couldn't distinguish cover her eyes. "Then what can we do?" He asked, because he really didn't know anymore.

A loud rumble of thunder was felt beneath their feet as a bright flash pierced through the windows and then it was dark. The lights above them stopped their buzzing and everyone was suddenly silent and in the dark. Through the darkness, Ezra could see the outline of Aria's face, helped by the dimmed light of his phone.

In the silence and darkness, the timer could be heard beeping. The game was over.

"Times up." Aria breathed, relieved that she didn't have to answer Ezra's question, because she really didn't know what to answer.

{EZRIA}

The library's generator was the only school's means of light, even still it was a dim glow above every second bookshelf as Aria walked behind Noel Kahn into the room. After her game with Ezra, she tried her best to stay away from him.

"Everyone take a seat with your groups, away from the windows." Aria heard her mom's voice instruct as she stood by the front door, ushering everyone inside. "If you have a cell phone feel free to call your parents to let them know we are all taking precautions due to the storm." She spoke calmly, noticing Aria as she walked through the doorway she gave Aria a smile and waved to her, which Aria gave a weak one in return.

With her backpack slung over her shoulder and her gold colored pillow tucked under her arm she plopped down near one of the tall bookshelves. Her group, against Ella's instructions dispersed around the room to find their friends and joined other groups. Sitting alone for a few minutes Aria closed her eyes and tried to calm her pounding heart.

She was starting to feel a little panic attack kick in, she wasn't fond of thunderstorms, not since experiencing them in roaring winds, pounding rains, crashing thunder, and blazing lightening out on the streets with Luca. Opening her eyes, she felt slightly better, until another round of thunder was heard and Aria was certain the books on the shelf behind her would come down.

She seriously wanted something to help take the edge off, but she couldn't leave the room now. There were too many eyes watching, and with her mom in the room she didn't dare try to take something. She would get caught and there was no way a teacher was going to let her go into a dark bathroom alone. She clenched her shaking hands together, easing her nerves as she began unpacking her blanket from her backpack, surrounding herself with comfy things tended to help easy the anxious feelings.

Through the door, students and faculty continued to enter the room, starting up mindless chatter as Aria sat on her pillow. Amongst the chatter she heard the annoyed yet slight humorous voice of her friend Hanna.

"Are you sure it's safe to be crossing cable wires while there's a massive storm outside?" Hanna asked, seated on the edge of the computer desk, a pair of guy's jeans and tennis shoes poking out from under the table.

"It wouldn't be the first time I got electrocuted…" The male's voice echoed playfully. When he didn't get a response back he gave a laugh. "It was a joke Han." He popped his head from under the table and glanced up at her with a smirk, his dark bangs hidden under his grey beanie.

"Don't call me Han," Hanna looked at him seriously, squirming in her position. She had only had a real conversation with him once before at her party and to her that didn't qualify as friends, yet. "You don't get that privilege yet." Hanna explained, removing her phone from her purse.

"Okay, fine." The guy let the words roll off his tongue slowly. "Hanna," He tilted his head, putting emphasis on her full name. "Can you please hand me the Phillips head screwdriver?" He raised her arm towards the red tool bag seated next to her.

"Is that the star or the flat head?" Hanna asked, looking down into the bag.

"The star." He replied, and a few seconds later it was in his hand. Ducking back under the table Hanna could hear his question a few seconds later as she worked out message on her phone.

"What are you doing on your phone right now anyways, updating your status?" He spoke with sarcasm.

"Haha, no." Hanna faked laughter. "I'm texting my mom." She simply stated, holding her phone an inch closer to the window, hoping the signal would go through.

Hearing the conversation, Aria turned her head towards the direction of the voices, but couldn't see them due to the books. She wasn't aware of Ezra's tall form standing over her until his voice made her jump.

"Aria are you okay?" He pondered, seeing how she was alone and appeared to be shaken by the storm. He bent down next to her as she turned to him and just stared. He placed a hand on her shoulder, despite the fact that people might see. She clearly looked like she could faint, her face so white. "Do you want me to get your mom?" He inquired, concerned.

"No," Aria quickly responded, shrugging away from his touch. "I'm fine." She removed her blanket from around her shoulders and began to stand to her feet. Ezra tried to reach for her hand, but by the time he was within reach she was already on her feet.

Fixing her hoodie, she walked in the direction she had heard Hanna just a few minutes ago and tried to get Ezra's concerned face out of her head. Removing her cell phone from her pocket she turned it on, not even bothering to check for a signal, knowing she had no need since Ella was standing just a few feet away and Luca was still at day-care. She approached the couple with her arms folded over her chest. She couldn't see the guy's face due to the table, but Hanna smiled, glancing her way from her position on the table.

"Hey," Aria acknowledged. "Did you get through to your mom? I can't get service in here." Aria made small talk, leaning against the table.

"Still trying." Hanna sighed, placing her phone back into her purse. Swishing her blond hair to the side as she glanced down at the jeans and tennis shoes, Hanna made gesture. "Oh Aria, this is Caleb. Caleb, Aria." She gestured towards her friend.

"Hi." Aria gave a small wave, a few seconds later as he peaked out from under the table.

"Hi." He acknowledged back, with a screwdriver in hand.

"What's with the bandana?" Hanna's question caught Aria's attention seeing how she changed the subject.

Glancing in the direction of the blonde, she spotted Spencer and Emily walking towards them. A bandana tied loosely around Emily's neck using Spencer to balance as she rubbed the front of her leg.

"We were partnered to play the Black Light buddy system, you know where one person's blindfolded and the other has to guided them around the school with obstacles in the way. We were doing great, until the power went out." Spencer grimaced.

"Nothing says trust like a good kick to the shin." Emily fell to the ground and began rubbing her shin, making it out to be more than it really was, but it did hurt.

"I said I'm sorry…" Spencer groaned, upset.

"Well tell that to my bruised leg." Emily exaggerated. Seeing the pouting look on Spencer's face, Emily rolled her eyes and smiled. Raising her hand, Spencer helped her up.

"My dad's in the army, I think I will survive." Emily reassured her friend.

Dropping the subject, Spencer observed the room and noticed Mr. Fitz standing beside a group of teachers immersed in conversation. Taking the opportunity, she reached for Aria's hand and tugged her towards the nearby window for privacy.

"So how did it go with Ezra?" Spencer whispered, with teasing in her voice.

"He um…" Aria folded her arms again, taking a deep breath. "He wanted to know where we stand after our kiss at your place and then timer buzzed before I could tell him." Aria shrugged, finding the window much more appealing than seeing Spencer roll her eyes.

Aria was right as she saw Spencer's eyes roll as she glanced back at her and felt her shake her out of her stiff position.

"Well what would you had said?" Spencer examined her friend closely, knowing deep down it was bugging Aria.

Aria sighed and loosened her grip from Spencer as she leaned her shoulder against the windowpane. Biting down on her lower lip, she recalled the talk she had with Mike previously this morning.

"Mike and I had a talk this morning about-" Aria paused, she couldn't tell her friend she was thinking or had even thought about leaving.

"About what?" Spencer egged her on, giving her friend her full attention.

"About me leaving again." Aria stated, immediately hearing Spencer's agitated whine.

"Are you serious?" Spencer quickly snapped back into her serious mood.

"I wasn't going to…" Aria defended. "Maybe…" She lowered her voice. "He got me thinking about telling Ezra the truth and-" Aria took a deep breath. "I think I want to." Aria smiled, her eyes misting with tears. "I just don't know how or when." She added, slightly frightened.

"My advice," Spencer's smile grew wide with the prospects of Aria coming to a decision. "Just go with the flow." She stated matter-of-factly. Hearing Spencer's words, Aria stood straighter and took another deep breath. "I never planned on being with Toby, but when I let life figure itself out, it just worked out." Spencer used as an example, noticing Aria's panicked expression.

"Just let it work itself out…" Aria nodded, repeating the words of wisdom.

"Girls?" They heard from across the room. As both heads turned, they saw Ella waving them over. "Let's move away from the window." She advised as everyone made way to small groups.

"I just got off the phone with my mom, apparently lightening hit the main fuse box by our house and none of us have power for the night." Emily detailed once Aria and Spencer met-up with Hanna and Emily, Caleb not that far behind.

"Just great," Hanna threw her head back in annoyance. Picking her stuff up off the floor she shuffled towards Aria's stuff and tossed it besides Spencer's stuff who was taking her spot next Aria. "So there really is no way out of here?" Hanna groaned as she sprawled out on her pillow.

"Tired of me already Hanna?" Mr. Fitz's asked in sarcasm, as he took a seat on the opposite side of Aria.

"I'm just saying some people are more willing to spend their afternoons here with you than others." Hanna expressed in annoyance.

Hearing Hanna's reply, and knowing it was hinting towards herself, Aria glared at Hanna. Stop… she mouthed to Hanna, who just shook her head with a smile.

"So Mr. Fitz, do you always wear your tie to "sleepovers"?" Mona's flirtatious voice broke out amongst the quite group. Ezra clearly felt embarrassed as he reached for the red tie around his neck. Smiling, he loosened the knot at the neck.

"No Mona, I must admit I don't." He glanced to the side at Aria, making it appear like he was loosening the knot in that direction.

Aria tried not to blush at the thought of their long ago "sleepovers" and obviously, he was thinking the same thing. Once the tie was off, he tossed it behind him and decided to move the discussion forward.

"Since our group has been mixed up a little and we have new members, let's go around the circle and tell everyone one secret about ourselves." He ran his hands over his jeans. Looking around the group, everyone nodded or shrugged in agreement. "I will go first." He paused to think. "On…Friday nights I always have vegan take-out and watch the movie China Town." He expressed, not really getting any feedback, but inside Aria swallowed the lump in her throat.

It was because of her, she loved vegan take-out and although she could never stay awake through China Town it was his favorite. She looked down into her lap as the group began their conversation. Aria heard Spencer's secret, although to her it wasn't one because she had told her years ago. It would be her turn next and she bit her lip, wondering what she should say.

"Sometime I dream in black and white. The noir films are some of my favorites, but I don't think I can top Aria's obsession with them." Spencer ribbed Aria with laugher, mainly trying to pull her friend out of her daze.

"Aria?" Aria heard Ezra call her name, which really got her attention. Just hearing him say her name and being so close to him had butterflies in her stomach. She looked up at him and saw the waiting expression on his face, as she licked her lips. What could she say, she didn't want to admit the truth to him now, she couldn't tell them she was a teen mom or that she had been homeless, but what other secrets did she have?

"I-" Aria began, her throat tightening. "I've lied to the only person who ever loved me." She took a shaky breath, eyes never leaving Ezra's. "And despite my new beginnings, I've messed everything up." She admitted. Deep down Ezra knew her secret was about him, he could see it in her eyes as she tried to hold down her tears. She was so close to breaking and everyone could see it.

"Let's-let's move on." Ezra finally pulled the attention back onto him as he tried to clear the air and allow Aria to gather herself. Aria blushed and pulled on the sleeves of her hoodie as she bit down on her tongue.

"I'm hungry." Hanna blurted out. "And lunch isn't for another hour." She complained.

Aria laughed under her breath as she composed herself and glanced at her friend. The blonde gave her a reassuring smile, knowing it had been a distraction to help clear the mood.

"I-I think my mom-" Aria scratched her head as she looked passed Spencer and over the corner where a table of food was located. "She has some power bars and waters in the corner." Aria pointed.

"Thanks." Hanna turned in that direction, and began to stand to her feet.

"I think I'll come too." Aria quickly stood, hoping it would help her clear her thoughts.

{EZRIA}

Sitting alone in the dark classroom, Aria twirled a carrot stick in-between her fingers as she tilted her head and lost herself in her thoughts. Aria's thoughts brought her to the moment she was going to tell Ezra, wondering what she would say. How much she would reveal about her past and then figuring out a solution to the problem.

She knew the right thing was to tell him, but where to tell him was her first boundary. She thought about telling him after school, but she had to pick up Luca. She thought about Snookers where they first met, but she didn't want it to be in a bar, they needed privacy. There was always his apartment; it was where she had always felt safe.

Her second obstacle was how to tell him. She could always start from the night they conceived Luca and hope he would catch on, but she wouldn't be able to hold her tongue to rush him along. She could blurt out the truth, maybe bring a picture with her, but their relationship had always been slow and steady. Her best bet was to tell him why she felt, came back, and then work backwards.

Her final concern was how they were going to continue this after Ezra knew the truth. She obviously knew he was going to ask to meet Luca, it was only fair, but the thought of the town piecing together the secrets was enough to make her was to shut down the whole notion of him knowing. She could always sneak him over every once and while until she got comfortable with Ezra watching Luca alone.

"You shouldn't be in here without adult supervision." A voice broke her from her thoughts, making her jump in her chair.

Turning, she saw the outline of Ezra's face. Tossing the carrot back into her lunch bag, she crumpled up the brown bag as she made for her backpack beside her standing up.

"I thought you didn't see me as a child?" She remarked, ready to walk passed him as he held up his hands to keep her still.

"I don't." He quickly stepped forward. "But I do care for you." He nodded towards her. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as she sat back down in her seat, placing the bags back down. She watched as he inched towards her until he was sitting in the desk in front of her, their faces only inches apart.

She swallowed her nerves, but thankfully the rain was only a light pitter-patter against the window instead of the thunderstorm from earlier. The power was still out, but Aria could see the blue of his eyes staring into her hazel ones.

"Would you go back if you could?" She asked, ringing her hands together under her desk.

"You mean what if I hadn't spoken to you that day in the bar or if I had left a few minutes earlier?" Ezra knew the unspoken truth to the question.

Aria didn't know why she asked, maybe it was because they were different people now and despite how far they've come she still wonders if she had stayed would they had made it. Maybe it was simply to see if he ever regretted being with her, she just needed some answer.

"Yeah," She breathed. "Would you think we would have had this history like we do now?" She detailed further. Had they met strictly as student and teacher would they have forgotten about theory and taken the chance? Or would she just be the girl one over from the window?

"To be honest," He cleared his throat, looking down at the desk. "When you left and I couldn't find you I did think about it." He admitted. "I thought about how I wouldn't have been pining for you. I wouldn't have," He letting out a deep breath. "Poured that third scotch just to clear my head. To not smell your perfume in my apartment or see your face in my class every day." He finally gained the courage to look up at her.

"It would be all neat and tidy." Aria sighed, her gaze looking out the window. So in a sense he did regret it, by leaving she knew it would hurt him, but she figured he would have moved on. "I would just be the girl one over from the window and-" She looked back at him. "You would be my teacher." She smiled.

"Like I am now?" Ezra verified the facts. She let his words linger in the air for a few minutes, the rain the only sound as it was now her turn to glance down at the desk. "What about you?" Ezra's question had her staring up at him. "Would you go back?" He asked, searching her eyes for doubt.

"No." She stated simply. She placed her hands down on top of the table and slouched forward as she smiled, trying to keep her emotions in check. "My best memories came from you." She swallowed, nodding.

He knew it was the truth, he didn't see any spec of doubt she truly meant every word. He nodded in silence, waiting to see if she would continue, but all was met in silence.

Aria was relieved for him to know something about her that was the truth. She spent day and night thinking about him. She did mean it; her best memories came from Ezra because although he didn't know it, he was a part of Luca. Luca came from him and every day she saw his smile or heard his belly laugh she thought of him.

"I should um…" Aria broke the silence again. "I need to get back to the lunch room before mom notices I'm gone." Stood and picked up her backpack.

Ezra reached out for her hand, stopping her as she turned around to look at him. She didn't sit back down, but she did stand before him. She didn't pull away or speak; she waited, knowing he wanted to say something.

"Aria," He whispered, rubbing his hand against her, loving the way they felt against each other. "I said I thought about going back," He paused, swallowing, staring at their joined hands. "I did- I think about it, but now that you're here." He squeezed her hand. "Standing before me I- I don't think I could ever go back." He shook his head. "My best memories were with you too." He smiled.

Aria smiled back at him, she wanted so desperately to bend down and kiss him, but the thought of being caught still lingered in her mind. She didn't speak, just squeezed his hand gently and then let it fall as she turned for the door. All the while she thought, he didn't regret it either.

{EZRIA}

Sneaking back into the lunchroom was easy, and thankfully her mom hadn't noticed she was gone. With lunch over she was back in Ezra's classroom, given the okay by the school's safety officials now that the majority of the storm had passed.

Standing in a row with her friends beside her, Aria placed her hands on her hips as she listened to Ezra explained the next activity. A line of silver duck tape cut the room in two as everyone stood behind the line.

"So I'm going to propose a question, statement, event, and if it applies to you in any way I want you to step over the line. This isn't to embarrass anyone; it's to show that we all deal with issues. Nothing we say in here goes out that door. Understood?" Ezra glanced across the line as everyone agreed.

Ezra held the clipboard to his eyes, using his cell phone as light to read off each statement or question. Clearing his throat he began to go down the list, pausing and taking a look after each one to see who had stepped over.

"Have you ever felt pressured to do well in school, whether by a teacher, fellow classmate, family, friends, or yourself?" He lowered the clipboard and saw Spencer and a few other students cross over the line.

"Have you ever felt unsafe around a teacher, classmate, or family member?" He asked, thankful when no one stepped over.

"Have you or anyone you know ever been homeless?" He questioned.

Hearing the words slip passed his lips, Aria closed her eyes, debating on whether or not to crossover. Doing so would be a big step, it meant letting out something only her friends had known about, it meant Ezra knowing. Taking a deep breath, Aria slowly lifted her foot and inched it over the line, her other foot joining as she stood alone. Glancing back at her friends, they all smiled towards each other. Smiling, she looked back to the front of the classroom and noticed the puzzled expression upon Ezra's face as he saw her over the line.

"Um…" He looked down at the board. "Let's take a short break, everyone's been standing awhile." He scratched his head.

Stepping back over the line, Aria took a seat in one of the chairs surrounding her friends. She knew he didn't stop the game for a break; he really did it to figure out why she had crossed the line.

"So proud of you." Spencer whispered as Hanna and Emily agreed.

"Thanks." Aria let out a breath. She knew any minute now Ezra was going to call her over.

"Aria?" She heard her name, and sure enough it was Ezra from the doorway.

She didn't waist anytime walking over to him as he stepped just outside the door and folded his arms. He glanced back inside to make sure no one was listening when he turned his attention towards her.

"You were in Iceland right?" Ezra asked, straight and to the point.

"I told you," Aria stared at him. "I was at boarding school." She explained again.

"And yet you crossed the line when I asked you if you have ever been homeless." Ezra stated back, his voice low but serious.

Aria swallowed, what was she going to say? She tossed the question around when she remembered what the question had said.

"I was in Iceland, Ezra." Aria rolled her eyes. "You also said if you've ever known anyone homeless. Unfortunately I have met people who are homeless." Aria replied. It really wasn't a lie, she did have friends who were and still are homeless.

Ezra stood stumped, he hadn't thought of that. He swallowed his embarrassment and nodded. "I just wanted to make sure." He acknowledged his concern as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Aria nodded to show she understood, but deep down she wished he would just stop trying to figure everything out and let it fall into place like Spencer had said earlier. With nothing left to say Aria walked into the classroom and back over to her friends.

"Alright, let's get back to the game." Ezra shut the door on his way back in. He picked up the clipboard and heard the sounds of his student's shoes squeaking against the tiles as they stood in a row once more. Trying to push aside the conversation with Aria, he kept his eyes trained on the clipboard.

"Have you ever felt alone even when surrounded by friends and family?" He asked, ignoring the buzzing coming from someone's cell phone.

Aria didn't bother to move; she was too fixed on the ID signaling on her phone's text message. Apparently while in the hallway she had missed three phone calls, but back beside the window she had a strong enough signal to receive a text.

The world began to spin, as she tried to keep her balance finding Emily's arm closest as she squeezed it, resulting in Emily jumping and glancing at her friend.

"What is it?" Emily whispered, but didn't get the chance to read the text. Aria clicked the phone's light off and stepped over the line.

"I-I have to go Mr. Fitz." Aria quickly muttered, raising her hand.

Ezra stopped in mid question as he turned to her. "Can't this wait Miss Montgomery?" He asked, getting ready to pick up where he had left off.

"No." Aria responded, shaking her head. "It really can't." She stated more directly, hoping he would see the urgency.

Not wanting to appear to give preferential treatment he looked to the clock and noticed they only had twenty minutes left of the activity. He decided to stand his ground and looked back at her.

"We have twenty minutes of class left, I think you can wait to use the bathroom." He motioned towards the clock. He again was just about to start up the activity when she spoke up.

"It's important." She took a step closer to him; at this her friends knew something must be serious for her to challenge Ezra like this in class. As they all glanced between each other and back at Aria they heard her go on. "Fine," She clenched her teeth. "If you don't let me leave I will walk out that door." She pointed towards the exit.

"Then I will give you a detention." He placed a hand on his hips, the other with the clipboard in hand he let fall to his side.

"See if I care." She raised her voice, stalking towards the door, not expecting for him to grab her arm. Not roughly, but enough to spin her around so they were staring eye to eye.

"What has gotten into you?" Ezra whispered, furrowing his eyes in anger.

"Nothing, now let go." She tried to pull away, but he held on.

"Aria, I am your teacher." His voice rose for all in the room to hear. "Tell me and I will let you go." He lowered his voice again.

Aria didn't have time for this. Fighting with him was the last thing she wanted to do. She had to get to Luca. Yanking her arm away from him, she was beyond angry.

"Our son was just admitted to the emergency room and if you don't let me go then I swear you, I will never forgive you for it!" She narrowed her eyes, her voice raised.

When Aria was finally able to catch her breath, it still hadn't sunk in what she had said. Her mind was still too focused on Luca to even care. Ezra's head was racing so fast he couldn't comprehend what Aria was saying. With his mouth hanging open he felt as if he was going to faint, thankful that his desk was behind him as his bottom his the surface. Through the silence a voice other than Aria's cut through the tension.

"I'll drive you there." Spencer spoke up, already halfway to the door.

"I'm coming too." Hanna replied, grabbing Aria's bag.

"I will go tell your mom and meet you there." Emily too followed.

"Thanks, Em." Aria said from the doorway.

Once out the door, Aria walked swiftly towards the parking lot, Spencer and Hanna quickly on her toes. It was hard to keep up, but once outside in the cold rain Spencer wrapped her jacket around Aria's shoulders.

"It's going to be okay, Aria." She expressed, hoping that would be a promise she could keep.

**Cliffhanger! I was going to add more, but the chapter was already really long. At least Ezra knows the truth and we will find out how Luc is. There is a good amount of Ezria in the next chapter and even an Ezra/Spencer showdown. What were your thoughts about Ezra finding out? What do you think happened to Luc? How do you think Aria and Ezra are going to work this out? **

**PLEASE continue to REVIEW they help me know what your thoughts and ideas are about the story. If you leave me a review with your ****screen name whether your signed in or not I will be more than happy to reply. Feel free to leave me a review on my Twitter account too at HeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF. :)**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home:**

"Luca Montgomery, he was just brought in by ambulance. He's two years old." Aria managed to get out as she watched the women in white type furiously on the keyboard.  
"Are you family?" The woman looked up briefly.  
"I'm his mother." Aria stated quickly.  
"He's in the children's ICU wing." The nurse reviewed the computer screen, removing a sticky-note from her pad.  
"Intensive care?" Aria's voice shook.

{PLL}

"Why couldn't I have just stayed with Luc?" Aria asked again, not grasping her exhausted state or the hunger pains in her stomach.  
"You didn't sleep last night and you barely ate the food Mike brought you this morning so you're coming home for a small nap and a bite of food." Ella stated, hitting the break pedal as she came to a four-way stop and turned the left blinker on.

{PLL}

Standing on their porch under the small overhang, Aria saw what had caused her mom to stop mid-sentence. Hearing the sound of their car, he had since stopped his pacing, just stood nervous with his hands in his pockets.  
"What is he doing here?" Ella turned to Aria, her voice demanding.  
"I-I don't know?" Aria stuttered, unclicking her seatbelt. She quickly looked from Ezra to Ella and back again. She knew she was going to have to deal with him, but she hadn't thought he would have the courage to come to her house. Her mom still didn't know what she had done in the classroom, she wanted to keep it that way. "Just…" Aria swallowed. "Let me take care of it." Aria nodded, her door already open.

{PLL}

"I got him this," He held the toy out for Aria to take, but all she did was stare at it. "I hope he likes dogs. I didn't really know what to get. I almost went to the bookstore and got the book you were going to checkout that day at the library, but then I thought-" He rambled.  
"I can't take it." She cut him off, rather dry.  
He closed his mouth and let her words hang there for a few minutes, hearing the sound of a bird tweeting in the trees close by. He licked his dry lips and cleared his throat.  
"It's just a toy, Aria." He tried again. "Please." He pushed it a little closer.

{PLL}

"My mind wouldn't let me sleep any longer." Aria rolled her eyes with a small laugh hoping to just brush it off.  
Ella nodded, and played with the fringe on the edge of Aria's blanket as she recalled Ezra's appearance at the house earlier. She really didn't want to pressure Aria by asking why he was here, but it was rather strange.  
"Does this have to do with why Ezra was on our doorstep?" Ella glanced up at Aria. Aria swallowed her unease and licked her lips trying to keep a straight face.

{PLL}

"I'm sorry…" A hand reached for her arm to steady her, but once she caught her balance Spencer pulled away.  
"Mr. Fitz?" Spencer about shouted. "What are you doing here?" She asked confused, looking behind him she saw no one was with him.  
"Spencer." He replied just as bewildered. "I was umm…" He rocked on his feet. "I was actually coming to see your mother." He gestured towards the inside of the office.

{PLL}

"What are you doing here?" His voice ruff from the burning drink.  
Aria stood staring at him, angled across from him as she watched his habits. She could tell he was angry with her, but she figured he was really only mad and that the brown liquor in his glass was heightening his senses.  
"I just knew you would be here." She sighed, tossing her purse into the seat across from him.  
She really hadn't known he would be here, she just knew that when he wanted to be alone or need to think, this is where he would come. She figured the memories helped him relax.  
"No I mean, why are you here?" He asked, his voice stern.  
"I want to talk…" Aria ignored his tone and spoke at an even level. "I want to talk like before things got serious and this is where it all started." She made gesture towards the building.

{PLL}

"What would you like to know?" She asked, hoping she was doing the right thing.  
Ezra smiled, he was finally getting her to open up. This was what he wanted all along. He could ask any number of things, it was hard with so many questions clouding his mind. Then it hit him.  
"His name for one…" Ezra's eyes didn't leave Aria's, knowing that if he remained focused she wouldn't go back on her word.

_**PLEASE REVIEW, TWEET ME & I WILL UPDATE SOON! :)**_


	9. Before Things Got Serious

**A/N: Hi Readers! Wow! Another weekend is here! Short and sweet, here is the next chapter, enjoy! ****T****hank you to my wonderful Beta:minixoxmya for all your help. Thank you everyone who continues to READ, REVIEW, FOLLOW, AND FAVORITE this story. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

**I also have a Twitter account where you can leave me reviews atHeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars. I only own the characters in which I create.**

**Finding Home**

**Chapter Nine: Before Things Got Serious**

❡So this is me swallowing my pride❡

Standing in front of you saying,

"I'm sorry for that night,"

And I go back to December all the time.

It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you.

Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine.

I'd go back to December, turn around and make it all right.

❡I go back to December all the time.❡

{Back to December by Taylor Swift}

Stuffing her hands into Spencer's borrowed jacket Aria took the lead towards the hospital entrance, her breath coming out in puffs of hot breath in the cold air. Her anxiety had her so worked up on the way over Spencer and Hanna feared she would have to be admitted to the emergency room for a panic attack.

"I was so stupid," Aria commented, her hands fisting in the pockets as she ran through the classroom fiasco once more in her head. "Why did I blurt it out to him like that?" She glanced towards her two friends, not expecting an answer really, just wanting to get the question out of her head. "In front of the whole class no less." Aria groaned stopping at the foot of the entrance as the double doors automatically opened.

"It's okay…" Hanna drawled out, following behind her friend.

"It was truth day, and your mind was on anything but lying." Spencer added, trying to calm Aria whose face was full of panic.

"Yeah, at least he knows." Hanna nodded, making Aria turn towards her as they stopped to look around for the front desk off to the side beside the large waiting area.

"I don't know what I'm going to do? I was just starting to process the idea of telling him and now-" Aria gulped, her knees growing weak.

"You'll figure it out, right now your main priority is Luc." Spencer placed a gentle hand on Aria's shoulder before motioning her towards the desk.

Aria only nodded as she took a breath and prepared herself to speak to the nurse behind the desk. She hated hospitals, it wasn't like Janette was here and her mom had yet to arrive.

Trying not to pass-out or stumble over her words she placed her hands on the edge of the counter and swallowed her nerves. She felt a hand on her shoulder again, but she wasn't sure if it was Hanna or Spencer's.

"Luca Montgomery, he was just brought in by ambulance. He's two years old." Aria managed to get out as she watched the women in white type furiously on the keyboard.

"Are you family?" The woman looked up briefly.

"I'm his mother." Aria stated quickly.

"He's in the children's ICU wing." The nurse reviewed the computer screen, removing a sticky-note from her pad.

"Intensive care?" Aria's voice shook.

"Third floor, room 326." The nurse scribbled onto the pad and handed it to Aria who was already making her way towards the elevators.

"Thanks." Spencer acknowledged politely, following Hanna. Aria was already at the elevator doors, repeatedly pushing the up button.

On the third floor, the girls countered the numbers until they reached Luca's room. Aria's heart was pounding in her chest wildly as she broke through the doorway and spotted Luca sitting on the bed dressed in a hospital gown, accompanied by a nurse who was holding an oxygen mask to his face.

"Luc?" Aria breathed, swiftly making her way towards his bed.

"Mommy…" Luca muffled against Aria's side as she held his close to her. She kissed the top of his head, noticing a rather large white bandage on his forehead as she smoothened down his curls along the back of his neck. She cried into his hair as she closed her eyes, thankful that she was with him.

"I'm here baby." Aria spoke soothingly.

"You are his mother?" The nurse spoke for the first time.

"Yeah." Aria pulled away from Luca's head, but still held him to her.

The nurse nodded and walked to the door, passing Hanna and Spencer who had since entered watching mother and child from the doorway. Within seconds the nurse was back, this time accompanied by a man with hair on the verge of greying. All eyes were on them as the man in the white coat walked towards Aria.

"I'm Doctor Clark," He held out his hand. Aria shook it as he continued; "I was the one who looked at your son when he was first brought in." He explained in which Aria nodded. Glancing between Luca, Spencer, and Hanna he looked back at Aria with a serious expression upon his face. "Can I speak with you out in the hall?" He gestured towards the door.

Aria licked her lips and glanced at Luc, she didn't want to leave him alone. "I-I don't want to leave Luc." Aria confessed.

"We will be with him, Aria." Spencer's reassuring voice spoke up. Aria turned towards her friends as they nodded and she swallowed her unease.

"Just outside the door," The doctor restated. "You can still see him through the window." The doctor hoped to rest the young girl's mind as the nurse in the room twisted the cord on the blinds so they were open.

Biting down on her lower lip, Aria made her way out of the room and stood with her side to the window so she could still look in. The doctor followed her position, his hands going into his pockets as he watched Aria look in on Luc, her friends drawing closer to the bed.

"What happened?" Aria asked, her voice a whisper as she closed her eyes. Everything had been going so well, she had just taken him to the doctors a few days ago and he was fine. He hadn't had to use his inhaler more than directed and was taking the cough medicine for his cold.

"According to the caretakers at his daycare, Luca apparently had an attack brought on by his Cystic Fibrosis." He explained, watching as Aria opened her eyes and looked at him. "When he fell, he hit his head on one of the chairs in the playroom." He made a gesture towards the bandage on Luc's forehead. "Has he ever experienced any fainting spells before?" The doctor looked Aria in the eyes, his voice growing serious again.

"No." Aria shook her head. "He-He's never fainted before." Aria stuttered. "He's had a cold for the past week but that's all." Aria took a deep breath as she looked back at Luca.

"Is he taking anything for it?" The doctor clicked his pen as he opened a medical file in his right hand.

"Just kid's cough medicine. Oh, and he got an inhaler for his breathing, but he's never passed out from anything. Not even his CF?" Aria raised her hands in confusion.

"Okay," The doctor wrote it down on the chart. "Well he has a pretty good bump on his head so I would like to keep him over night and maybe into the day tomorrow just to make sure he doesn't have a concussion and to monitor his breathing." He clicked his pen off and placed it back in his breast pocket.

"As long as I can stay with him." Aria sighed in relief as she nodded.

"Of course." The doctor agreed.

"Thank you." Aria shook his hand again.

"You're welcome. I will come back in a little bit to check on him." He motioned towards Luca in the other room. With that being said the doctor stepped aside and started down the corridor

"I tried to call you." Spinning on her heels, Aria spotted Gina from the daycare, ringing her hands together. "How is Luc?" She asked, trying to control her nervous. It had been her responsibility to keep him safe at the daycare.

"They want to keep him overnight, but he seems to be doing better." Aria nodded, giving a weak smile. "With Truth Day at school I had a hard time keeping my phone on." Aria raised her hands, there was nothing they could do about missed calls the main thing was that they were here now and Luca is doing better.

"Good." Gina nodded, trying to make everything snap into place. "I rode with him in the ambulance," She stated, stepping beside Aria so she could look inside his room. "He was so well behaved." She smiled at Aria. "Wasn't even scared." She laughed under her breath.

"Well he's seen enough hospitals for his life time." Aria rolled her eyes, biting her lip.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Gina asked, watching Aria's reaction.

"No." Aria replied quickly. "No… I just want to be with him." Aria faced Gina, pointing towards Luca's room.

Gina unclasped her hands and found Aria's giving them a light squeeze.

"Call me if you need anything," Gina paused, staring right into Aria's eyes. "The school can help you if you need assistance in anyway." Gina made it her point to let her now.

"Thank you for staying with him until I got here." Aria acknowledged before Gina glanced back in the room one last time and then began her journey towards the exit.

Trying to calm her still anxious heart, Aria prepared herself for stepping back into Luca's room, he was going to be fine and there was no need to show him any alarm. Taking a deep breath and smiled as she walked in, feeling all eyes turn on her as she made her entrance.

"Hey, buddy." Aria's voice squeaked, with a little laugher. She shot a glance at Spencer who was standing beside Luca's bed where the nurse had been earlier while Hanna had opted for the windowsill behind her.

Aria walked towards Luca's bed; around the opposite side of where Spencer, Hanna were so she could look at them from across the bed.

"Mommy…" Luc grabbed Aria's attention. "I fall down." He motioned, as he touched the bandage on his head and then laid his head down on his pillow to re-enact the fall.

"I can see," Aria brushed some curls out of his eyes. "But the doctors are going to make you all better." Aria whispered leaning in to give him a kiss. Looking up at Spencer and Hanna, they were curious to know what was said out in the hallway, but the silent nod and smile assured them that Luca would be okay.

"Luc," Hanna called, jumping down off the sill and standing beside Spencer. Luc's tiny features turned towards Hanna as she bent down to be eye level with him. "Did you get to ride in a big white car?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Bus. It's not a car." Spencer corrected Hanna.

"Car went beep-beep." Luc's voice filled with laugher.

Spencer didn't have the heart to correct him as all three of them soon began laughing. Finding the attention to be to his liking, Luca repeated the words over and over again.

"He is so cute, Aria." Hanna smiled towards her friend, standing up straighter from her crouched position; her shoes weren't the proper hospital attire as she used the bed to keep herself from sliding.

Luca let out a big yawn as Aria looked back at him, noticing the way he began to rub his eyes. She tucked the white blanket around him and rubbed the top of his head.

"Hold you…" Luc reached for her, his voice a small whimper.

Knowing that he really meant he wanted her to hold him, Aria rested his hands back down to his sides.

"You have to stay in bed okay." She shifted his position on the bed and then climbed in the little space she had made. "But mommy is right here." She whispered as if her two friends were not in the room. "I love you." She smiled, taking his hand in hers' as she began rubbing it in gentle circles.

"Peter…" Luc said, sleepy.

"You want your bear?" Aria sat up and looked around the hospital room, hoping it hadn't been left at the daycare in the shuffle of everything. Spinning around, Spencer saw the plastic bag leaning against the windowsill.

"A nurse dropped off a bag of his things while you were talking to the doctor." Spencer explained, digging through the bag.

She found the bear under Luca's clothes and shoes. Holding the bear in front of the little boy his smile grew wider as he hugged the bear close to his chest.

"Peter Pan." He rubbed his face into the bear's fur.

The four of them stayed like this until Ella and Emily arrived, the only difference then that everyone changed positions in the small room. A short time after, Ella advised Hanna, Spencer, and Emily to go back to the school. Protesting, the girls eventually did as told and said goodbye as Aria waved and whispered goodbye. Luca had fallen asleep in the mist of all the talking.

{EZRIA}

By the end of the day Luc was no longer in the ICU, but moved to a general patient room, which to be honest was more inviting. The walls were a light blue, but appeared darker in the dim light cascading from the light above Luca's bed. The hall was quite, except for a few people coughing and the occasional beep of a monitor.

Aria sat focused on Luca's sleeping form in the large bed. Moving to the new room offered Aria with a chance to sit back in a chair as she focused on him. Her elbow rested on the arm of the chair, her head propped up in the cup of her hand. Her eyes were slowly closing, but every few minutes she would shake herself awake.

"Coffee?" Aria heard from the doorway. With her head still in her hand, she turned towards the voice and spotted the shadow of Ella with two cups.

"Thanks." Aria sat up, using the arms of the chair to help pull herself up into her seat.

Aria could smell the wafting scent of the coffee as her mom drew closer, taking the seat beside her in the empty chair. Aria brought the cup to her lips, it wasn't the best coffee, but it was better than nothing.

"I just saw the doctor leave." Ella informed Aria, as she looked to her and saw her nodding her head.

"Yeah, he wanted to start Luc on an IV drip to boost his hydration. The cold is making his fluid levels run low." Aria explained, resting her head on the back of her chair. Tilting her head towards Luca's small hand, she spotted the clear tube running from under the tape up the IV pole.

"He's so little…" Ella nudged Aria, hoping the comment would bring a smile to her daughter's face.

"I know…" Aria smiled weakly. She took another sip of her coffee, feeling the warmth run through her body. "I hate see him like this."

Ella watched Aria closely, her daughter's gazed so focused on Luca to even notice her staring. She saw the way Aria's smile soon deflated and the pained expression upon her face before Aria closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to control her emotions that were just hitting her.

Aria could still picture the look on Ezra's face when she had shouted to him. The way his eyes widened, mouth hung open, even hearing the sharp intake of his breath when some part of the reality had hit him. She remembers that dreaded feeling of when the nurse told her Luca was in the intensive care unit. How she should be used to this by now, all the doctor's appointments and emergency visits to the hospital, it was one right after the other in her eyes. She wanted a normal life for Luca, she wanted his only problem to be how high he could swing on the swings or finding his teddy bear at night before bed time. Not the life of needles, doctors, and impending surgeries.

"I hate seeing him like this…" Aria whispered, again. "This should not be his life." Aria slowly shook her head, her eyes still closed as she pinched the bridge between her nose and her eyes. She felt Ella's hand on her knee and opened her eyes to glance in her mom's direction. Ella said nothing; just let her daughter know she was there for her. "He didn't even wake when they gave him the IV." Aria's voice was small.

"He's wiped out." Ella motioned towards his sleeping body. "And so are you." Ella glanced back at Aria. She uncrossed her legs and tried sitting up straighter, but she soon just slouched back down.

"I'm okay." Aria tried to convince her mom with a smile.

Ella noticed the exhaustion in Aria's voice, the yawn that erupted a few seconds later. Aria's eyes were once again focused on Luca who had since moved his head from his pillow to his teddy bear.

"Why don't I call Mike to come take you home or you could go back to the school and end Truth Day with your friends? That might be good for you." Ella suggested.

She wouldn't be able to sleep at home and going back to school would be a distraction, but after today's events with Ezra and knowing he might still be there. That was the last place she wanted to be.

"I don't want to leave him…" Aria shook her head.

"I'll be here with-"

"Mom," Aria cut her off in a demanding whisper. "I'm not leaving him again." Aria restated. She didn't mean to sound harsh, she was just tired and it had been a long day.

"Okay." Ella let the word come out with a sigh. She finished the last of her coffee and bent down next to her chair to retrieve her cell phone from her purse. "I'll go call Hackett, tell him something came up so we won't get our heads chewed off for leaving." She explained with a bit of sarcasm as she walked out of the room.

{EZRIA}

Aria felt the cold through the glass window as she rested her head against the car window. She watched the trees and houses go by in familiar order as Ella turned here and there until they were almost to their street.

Sighing, Aria lifted her head from the glass and pulled on the sleeves of her hoodie, crossing her arms in her lap. She wished she could have stayed with Luca, she thought as she held back a yawn.

"Why couldn't I have just stayed with Luc?" Aria asked again, not grasping her exhausted state or the hunger pains in her stomach.

"You didn't sleep last night and you barely ate the food Mike brought you this morning so you're coming home for a small nap and a bite of food." Ella stated, hitting the break pedal as she came to a four-way stop and turned the left blinker on. "Luc is fine, Mike is there with him." She reminded Aria who just shifted in her seat. When the car across from them drove passed and the coast was clear, Ella made the turn down their street. "Now I want your butt into bed and I will bring you a soup and sandwich a little-" Ella paused when she pulled into their driveway. "Later." Ella finished.

Standing on their porch under the small overhang, Aria saw what had caused her mom to stop mid-sentence. Hearing the sound of their car, he had since stopped his pacing, just stood nervous with his hands in his pockets.

"What is he doing here?" Ella turned to Aria, her voice demanding.

"I-I don't know?" Aria stuttered, unclicking her seatbelt. She quickly looked from her Ezra to Ella and back again. She knew she was going to have to deal with him, but she hadn't thought he would have the courage to come to her house. Her mom still didn't know what she had done in the classroom, she wanted to keep it that. "Just…" Aria swallowed. "Let me take care of it." Aria nodded, her door already open.

Ella gave her the steely look she was known for, warning Aria to keep it short. Stepping out of the car, Ella's eyes remained that grimace as she walked up the steps.

"Ezra." She said coolly.

"Hi Ella." Ezra smiled, as Ella simply walked into the house.

The door clicked shut as Aria walked up the stairs and Ezra turned to look at her. Her shoulders hunched back as she tucked a lock of her dark curls behind her ear before stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"How is he?" Ezra whispered, clearly nervous as he looked around, even to the window beside them to make sure Ella wasn't listening in.

"He's um…" Aria sucked in a deep breath, her eyes slightly wide. "He's doing better." She nodded towards the dark wood beneath her feet. "The doctors still have to run some tests I just came home to grab a few of his things." Aria pointed towards her house.

Removing his right hand from his pocket, he stared at the tiny stuffed animal dog and inspected it for the hundredth time since he bought it. He couldn't believe he was buying a toy for his son.

"I got him this," He held the toy out for Aria to take, but all she did was stare at it. "I hope he likes dogs. I didn't really know what to get. I almost went to the bookstore and got the book you were going to checkout that day at the library, but then I thought-" He rambled.

"I can't take it." She cut him off, rather dry.

He closed his mouth and let her words hang there for a few minutes, hearing the sound of a bird tweeting in the trees close by. He licked his dry lips and cleared his throat.

"It's just a toy, Aria." He tried again. "Please." He pushed it a little closer.

She took a deep breath, removing her hand from her pocket. It wasn't right to be taking his gifts, not when she wasn't sure what was going to happen between them, but she knew he wasn't going to let it go.

"Thank you, he'll love it." She took the toy from his hand, feeling the soft fur and stuffed it into her pocket.

For a few minutes no one said a word. He was pleased she took the toy, but that was just the beginning. He wanted to meet his son.

"Can I see him?" Ezra finally broke the silence, stating the question they were both waiting to be said.

Aria rolled her eyes towards the window and sucked in a deep breath. She didn't know how to say this, and it broke her heart to have to say it, but he couldn't.

"Ezra, I don't think-"

"Please." His voice rose.

"Look," Aria's eyes went straight to his as she took a step closer to him. "I'm not going to let this ruin you." She whispered in a forceful tone.

"How-" Ezra shook his head with a small laugh under his breath. "How would it ruin me?" His arms rose as his sides in confusion. "All I want is to see him." He stated clearly.

"Because…" Aria drawled out, frustrated.

He didn't see the big picture. He wasn't looking at this clearly. He wasn't thinking about how she had lied to him. He wasn't mad at how she had blurted it out in the middle class. He wasn't even concerned about the town finding out. But when this hit full force, Aria knew he would regret it.

"You're my teacher." She deadpanned. "Do you realize how this can hurt you?" She reminded him.

Reminded him of how in the beginning, it was him who would ask her to count to fifty before leaving his apartment. How they used to hole up and couldn't even be seen in public.

She lifted her left hand to her head and she cupped the back of her head and leaned against it. Opening her mouth, she let her arm fall to her side, smacking the material of her jeans.

"It's no longer just about your job and me," She paused. "It's about him too." She emphasized.

Ezra's eyes darted to the ground, his breath a little shaky as realization finally hit him. She was right, but he still wanted the chance to meet him.

"Now you know." Aria simply said. Ezra looked up at her, wondering what she hadn't meant by that. "Now you know why I left. Why I couldn't contact you." She explained.

"If you would have told me-" Ezra began.

"No." Aria shut him down, much like a mother does to her child. Something Ezra realized she was, that something that he now realized the change in her. "No," She restated, calmer. "It would be best if you just left." Aria swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She tried to side step him towards her door, but Ezra was quick and tall.

"No." Ezra blocked her.

Clenching her mouth shut she took a deep breath and swallowed. "If you really love me then you will." She challenged him, looking him in the eyes.

She tried again to move passed him, but he held his arms up in front of her. "Aria, wait." He begged.

"Goodbye, Ezra." She managed to duck around him. With her hand on the door handle, she turned the knob. With her eyes just mere inches from the doorframe she closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. "I'll see you Tuesday morning at school." She licked her dry lips. "Until then," She paused. "Please leave me alone." She added before pushing the door open and closing it without turning back.

{EZRIA}

Staring up at the ceiling, Aria didn't even hear her mom coming up the stairs until the squeaking of her bedroom door alerted her of her mom's presents. Turning her head, she caught the sight of her mom with a tray of food in her arms. Sitting up, Aria tossed the blanket that was wrapped around her to the side as she fixed her pillow.

"I hope I didn't wake you?" Ella smiled, as she walked further into the room and set the tray down on the bed, sitting at the edge herself.

"You didn't." Aria replied. "I really only slept for an hour, I've been up for about…" She looked at her clock on her nightstand. "Fifteen minutes." She answered. "My mind wouldn't let me sleep any longer." Aria rolled her eyes with a small laugh hoping to just brush it off.

Ella nodded, and played with the fringe on the edge of Aria's blanket as she recalled Ezra's appearance at the house earlier. She really didn't want to pressure Aria by asking why he was here, but it was rather strange.

"Does this have to do with why Ezra was on our doorstep?" Ella glanced up at Aria. Aria swallowed her unease and licked her lips trying to keep a straight face. She should have known that this was going to be brought up.

"He was just concerned about why I wasn't at school that's all." Aria shrugged.

"He seems to still be attached to you." Ella stated, noticing the way he was always shooting glances towards her or the way she would find Aria talking to him after class alone. "Is he bothering you because I can-"

"Mom no." Aria quickly stopped her. "I set him straight this afternoon." Aria confirmed, hoping to get off the subject.

Noticing the way Aria was reacting, she opted to just give her daughter some space. Smiling, she nodded the understanding to drop the subject.

"Okay," Pushing the tray closer to Aria, Ella stood from her seated position. "I made you some veggie soup and a turkey sandwich. Just bring the tray down when you're done." Ella gave Aria a small hug around the shoulders.

"Thanks, mom." Aria said when her mom pulled away.

Aria picked up her spoon as Ella walked to Aria's bedroom door and shut it on her way out.

{EZRIA}

The law office was rather large for a town so small, but inside Spencer knew all the rooms and knew the people who worked in them. She basically grew up in here. With both of her parents as lawyers and sister taking on the lead to being the next, Spencer was bored with the notion of following in the Hasting's footsteps.

Her mom was currently in court and her father was nowhere to be found. Meaning he was probably out on a case too or tracking down the last bag of pretzels in the lounge's vending machine.

Setting the paperwork down on the mahogany desk that her mom had asked her to bring by earlier, Spencer turned the computer screen towards her. Hoping for a something other than a blank screen, but all she found was the company's logo bouncing around from corner to corner.

Her mom had asked for her to stick around, probably going to question why the school had contacted her about skipping part of Truth Day, but really she couldn't care less. The only thing the themed day accomplished was dragging everyone into everyone's business, and like that wasn't already a part of growing up in this small town.

Tired of waiting, Spencer wrote a small note on her mom's pad of paper explaining that the paperwork was beside it and she was heading home to work on her homework. Clicking the pen off, Spencer set it down and headed for the door, her tall body colliding with another as she stumbled back a few steps in the doorway.

"I'm sorry…" A hand reached for her arm to steady her, but once she caught her balance Spencer pulled away.

"Mr. Fitz?" Spencer about shouted. "What are you doing here?" She asked confused, looking behind him she saw no one was with him.

"Spencer." He replied just as bewildered. "I was umm…" He rocked on his feet. "I was actually coming to see your mother." He gestured towards the inside of the office.

Spencer furrowed her eyes at her English teacher, wondering what business he had to see with her mother, until Aria and Luca popped into her head.

"Is this about Aria and your son?" She asked rather boldly.

"I really," Ezra shook his head. "Don't think I should be discussing this with-"

"She's my best friend." Spencer cut him off. Ezra closed his mouth tight as Spencer placed a hand on her hip. "She's been through a lot." Spencer clarified.

"I understand that, but-" He began again.

"No you don't." Spencer once again stopped him, this time her voice rising a little higher.

"Excuse me?" Ezra questioned, taken aback by her sudden behavior towards him.

"You don't know her." Spencer shook her head. "Do you even get how much she loves you?" Spencer asked, her shoulders shrugging upwards.

"I do. I lov-" Ezra tried to confirm, but was once again interrupted.

"Do you think it's easy to keep a secret like that?" Spencer threw another question his way. Not giving him a change to respond she answered for him. "Because you're screwed if you tell and you're screwed if you don't. She risked coming back here. She knew she was going to see you, but she wanted to keep him safe." Spencer rambled on the words just coming out of her mouth like water shooting from a fire hose with no chance of stopping.

"Safe from what?" Ezra questioned over her venting, but Spencer never answered just kept on going.

"She gave it all up for you. She ran away so you wouldn't get caught." Spencer pointed her finger towards him. She wasn't one to get on a teacher's bad side, but under these circumstances Spencer didn't care.

"Aria didn't have to do any of that." Ezra broke through Spencer's words.

"Oh, so had she told you in the beginning you wouldn't have reacted like you did in class?" Spencer tilted her head. "You wouldn't had just stood there in the middle of the classroom with your mouth hanging open while your son was rushed to the hospital?" Spencer spoke so fast Ezra had to think fast just keep up with the firing questions.

"No." Ezra shouted. "I wouldn't. I had just found out, I could barely comprehend what she had said." Ezra manage to stop her long enough to get a word in. "I still haven't fully processed this." Ezra admitted, taking a deep breath.

Spencer let a small laughed escape her lips as she thought about how she had one up on him. He was coming to see her mom and she could talk to her when she got home, she could even warn Aria about what Ezra was planning on doing.

Spencer didn't back down, but she did take a minute to calm herself before speaking again. With her one hand on her hip and the other gripping the door handle, she twisted the knob out of habit as she looked at him.

"Do you really think my mom is going to help you get custody of him?" Spencer lowered her voice. "You've known about him for what?" Spencer shrugged again. "Not even a full day and your already ready to rip them apart?" Spencer stared him down.

"I'm not- not trying to take him away from Aria." Ezra stuttered. "I just want to meet him." Ezra let out a deep breath.

If speaking to Spencer was anything like speaking to her mother than he was sure to have visitation rights by the end of next week. He didn't want to do this, go behind Aria's back but it was only fair. He wanted to meet his son, knowing that there was someone out there with his DNA was worth doing this. He knew in time Aria would come around to the idea.

Silence had left the two just staring at each other for a few seconds, both gathering their thoughts. Spencer twisted the door handle to her mom's office, the noise the only thing between them.

"Just promise me you won't hurt her." Spencer calmly stated. "He is all she has." Spencer reminded him.

"I promise." Ezra nodded, hoping honesty would be evident in his eyes.

"Good." Spencer let her hand fall to her side. "Because you may be my teacher," Spencer paused. "But she's my best friend." Spencer finished; stepping passed him as she walked down the hall.

Removing her cellphone from her pocket she looked through her contacts until she found the number she was looking for.

{EZRIA}

Aria sat in the hospital room, her legs tucked underneath her as she propped the book up on her lap so she could skim over it. For the moment it was just her and Luc as he watched the tiny TV on the wall play some cartoon.

Snapping her cellphone closed, Ella replaced it in her purse as she entered the room.

"Where did your brother go?" Ella asked, noticing his absents from the room as Ella shielded her eyes from the setting sun pouring in through the window.

"He went downstairs to the cafeteria to buy Luc some ice cream. His treat, he said." Aria laughed, turning the page in her book.

"Ice cream, yeah!" Luca bounced on his knees, making the bed shake.

"Well someone must be feeling better if he's having ice cream." Ella laughed, her hand hitting the bed playfully, making Luca laugh. Aria smiled at the happiness her son was having despite being cooped up in here all day, thankful something was able to keep his spirit bright.

Ella noticed the book in Aria's hands. "What are you looking at?" Ella tilted her head to get a better look once she sat in the seat beside Aria. Aria turned the booklet towards her, revealing the colorful images from the past. "Aw…" Ella smiled, gripping the side of the book. "Your old baby book." Ella stated the obvious.

"I found it on the shelf in my closet." Aria explained, flipping to the beginning of the book.

A picture of Aria around the age of one, with pigtails dressed in a daisy dress, a wide grin plastered on her face was the one that caught Ella's attention. They were in the backyard of her parent's house, barbecuing. "You were just starting to walk in that picture," Ella pointed to it. "Remember," She laughed, as if Aria could remember. "Your dad would bribe you to him with food." Ella nudged Aria lightly making her laugh.

"Luc does it too." Aria looked up at her boy. "He will go to anyone who will give him a cookie." Aria stated, catching Luca's ears he looked over to her.

"Cookie!" Luca shouted.

"No cookie," Aria stated. "You're having ice cream." Aria reminded him, hoping he wouldn't be stuck on it.

"Ice cream." He smiled, the thought of the cookie disappearing.

"Your first time at Sea World," Ella pointed to another picture.

Aria laughed at the two pictures, the first one of her family standing close together beside the fountain, Mike in a red t-shirt and herself in a yellow sundress. The second one just alike only Mike was a blurred image as his body was falling mid-snap of the picture.

"You pushed your brother into the fountain." Ella snorted, in laughter.

"I was five, he was four." Aria defended with a laugh. "He was picking on me." Aria recalled the day, clearly. "I hope I get to take Luc on trips like this." Aria sighed, flipping to the next page. "It would be neat to travel in a small RV for a summer." Aria imagined, Ella nodding to the idea. "I want Luc to have a normal childhood." Aria bit her lip in thought.

"He will…" Ella sighed, pulling Aria in for a side hug.

The sound of Aria's phone alerting her of a text message drew the moment to a close as Aria handed her mom the photo album so she could grab her phone out of her pocket.

Aria saw that the message was from Spencer, figuring she was just wanting to check in on her and Luc the smile on her face soon deflated as Aria read the message over and over again.

Spencer: SOS. Just ran into Fitz at my mom's office. He's looking into visitation rights for Luc. I wanted to warn you before this gets ugly. I will try to get something out of my mom later tonight. Text me if you need me.

Closing her eyes, Aria took a deep breath. She hadn't thought he would go this far, this quick. She had to do something, Aria thought as her mind raced. She clicked the off button on her phone and stuffed it back into her pocket, a plan developing in her mind.

"Ella," Aria called. "Do you think Mike could take me over to Spencer's for an hour or two? I need to pick something up, it's important." Aria detailed, hoping it sounded genuine enough, but not too shady.

"Yes you may go." Ella agreed, her eyes never leaving the photos. "Luc should be discharged soon so I will text you if they do it before you get back. That way you can just come home." Ella advised.

"Okay, sounds good." Aria grabbed her purse, and then remembered Mike was still downstairs.

He was gone for only a few more minutes, but to Aria if felt like a lifetime. It did give her time to think it through a little better, her plan that was.

"I didn't know what he would want so I got chocolate, vanilla, and twist." Mike swiftly walked through the door, the three cups of ice cream cold in his hands.

"He likes twist." Aria stood. "Do you mind taking me over to Spencer's I need to grab something?" Aria asked, hoping he would say yes.

"Sure," Mike agreed, removing the lid to the chocolate, vanilla swirled ice cream and handed it to Luc with a plastic spoon. "Make it quick." Mike stated, handing her the plain vanilla as he chose the chocolate.

"Bye, Luc." Aria bent down and kissed Luc's head. "Love you." She waved to her mom before practically pulling Mike out of the room.

Once on the elevator, Mike swallowed a rather large scoop of ice cream and looked over to his sister who had yet to start hers'. Noticing her agitation, he bumped her shoulder.

"So what do you need at Spencer's?" He asked, figuring he had a right to know since he was the one driving.

"Nothing." Aria paused, Mike sending her a perplexed look. "We are not going to Spencer's. I just couldn't tell mom where I'm going." She explained.

"Then where am I taking you?" Mike questioned.

"To a bar." Aria shrugged. The ground beneath them jolted, as a small bell alerted them to the stop and the doors parted. Without a word Aria stepped off and hurried for the exit.

"What?" Mike finally asked. "Aria, wait." He called after her, as he walked fast to catch up.

{EZRIA}

Ezra sat in the usual booth in Snooker's bar, allowing the memories of when he had first met the petite brunette fill his senses. The song on the juke-box playing their song, the scotch in his hand. The only difference was the place where he was sitting and the fact that he didn't have with him his book.

Opening his eyes, he had to blink a few times to process that the image before him wasn't a dream or figment of his imagination due to the alcohol consumed. When she didn't vanish, he swallowed his anger and brought his drink to his lips.

"What are you doing here?" His voice ruff from the burning drink.

Aria stood staring at him, angled across from him as she watched his habits. She could tell he was angry with her, but she figured he was really only mad and that the brown liquor in his glass was heightening his senses.

"I just knew you would be here." She sighed, tossing her purse into the seat across from him.

She really hadn't known he would be here, she just knew that when he wanted to be alone or needed to think, this is where he would come. She figured the memories helped him relax.

"No I mean, why are you here?" He asked, his voice stern.

"I want to talk…" Aria ignored his tone and spoke at an even level. "I want to talk like before things got serious and this is where it all started." She made gesture towards the building.

Ezra let a laugh escape his lips, as he let the ice in his glass circle the bottom. His eyes were still glued to the small ice cubes as he spoke.

"I'm surprised you're even willing to be seen with me." He let the words slide off his tongue.

Aria could hear the intoxicated state he was inducing himself into with every sip, knowing he didn't mean the sarcastic drunk words. She reached across the table and lifted the glass from his grasp. She placed it in the corner beside her, making sure it made a noise as it hit the wood. Ignoring his huffed breath and rolling of the eyes, Aria cleared her throat to grab his attention.

"I figured if you could take the chance and kiss me like that at Spencer's then I could take the chance to be here with you." She explained.

"So I take it Spencer told you?" Ezra laughed under his breath, again. "That I went to her mother for advice." He smirked, he should had known that Spencer would tell her, they were friends.

"Yeah she did." Aria said straight.

"I only want to get to know my son." Ezra stated, loud and clear. "I think that's only fair." He crossed his arms, slouching in his seat with his back against the booth.

Seeing his actions, Aria knew he was relaxing. She took a few minutes to ponder the thought. She didn't want a battle between them and if she were going to allow him to meet Luca at some point, Ezra would have to know something's beforehand.

Sighing, Aria sat up a bit straighter and placed her arms on the table. She licked her lips and gazed into his glassy blue eyes.

"What would you like to know?" She asked, hoping she was doing the right thing.

Ezra smiled, he was finally getting her to open up. This was what he wanted all along. He could ask any number of things, it was hard with so many questions clouding his mind. Then it hit him.

"His name for one…" Ezra's eyes didn't leave Aria's, knowing that if he remained focused she wouldn't go back on her word.

"Luca." Aria smiled. "Luca Atticus Fitz." Aria replied with his full name. "I call him Luc for short." She let out a small laugh.

Ezra laughed along with her, he really wasn't sure why, but it just felt right. He swallowed the dryness in his throat and looked down at the table, his finger drawing circles in the wood as he thought of another question.

"Does he look like me?" Ezra glanced up at Aria, noticing the far off look in her eyes.

"A mixture of both of us." Aria paused, seeing his face with his blue eyes curly hair and toothy grin. "He has my curly hair and smile," Aria tilted her head. "But his eyes and laugh are you." She looked back over at Ezra.

"I always pictured a baby with your eyes." He nodded towards her, this time it was his turn to tilt his head and get that far off look. "I love your hazel eyes, I could get lost in them for days." He admitted.

Aria tried her best to ignore his comment, but the blush on her cheeks would not go away. Clearing her throat, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"He has your smarts too," She got back on the subject. "He loves to read," She detailed. "But he's very stubborn like me." Aria rolled her eyes, knowing it was true.

"Sounds like a good kid." Ezra nodded.

The next few moments stood still as neither spoke, but deep down Ezra was itching to ask the one thing he knew would get her riled up again. He had already learned so much about him, but that wasn't enough.

"Can I meet him?" Ezra questioned, swallowing his inner turmoil.

"Ezra I-" Aria quickly started, but was cut off.

"Please…" Ezra begged. "You can say I'm a friend." He suggested.

Aria turned away and shook her head. Saying he was a friend would only cause for confusion when Luca was older and it would only bring Ezra pain because he would never feel content with the role. No, she had to shut this down.

"Luc," Aria emphasized his name. "He's…" Aria bit her lip, looking back at Ezra. "He's been through a lot." Aria rummaged for the best words. "We just got into town and he needs time to adjust to life here." Aria calmly said, hoping it would be understandable.

"Life here?" Ezra furrowed his eyes. "I-I don't even know where you've been?" Ezra smirked. "Where's he's been?" Ezra stifled a laugh.

"You don't want to know…" Aria spoke sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "You don't need to know." Aria added, her voice a tad bit serious.

"How will he ever adjust to life without a father?" Ezra's voice rose slightly, his hand hitting the table, not too hard, but enough to make Aria jump.

"I'm not saying he will never meet you." Aria tried again, seeing the way Ezra rolled his eyes at her statement. "I'm just saying give him time." Aria suggested.

"Time?" Ezra questioned the very meaning of the word. "I've already missed what two-three years of his life?" Ezra shrugged his shoulders. "What about me, Aria?" He asked, hurt.

Aria swallowed down her rising tears as she took a moment to gather her thoughts. She hated to hear the pain in his voice, knowing she was causing it. But he wasn't thinking this through. Would a student-teacher relationship survive the small town? Would Luca ever be able to walk the streets as a teenager without the laughter of who his parents are?

"I never wanted to hurt you." Aria's voice grew soft. "I was only trying to keep-"

"Me safe I know." Ezra finished, clearly annoyed. "You've said that to me before." He grumbled.

"It's the truth." Aria furrowed her eyes at him.

"It's a lie." Ezra shot back. Aria's mouth hung open, ready to speak when Ezra went on. "I could have helped you with Luc." He explained.

"How?" Aria simply asked. Not giving him a change to respond, like he had just done to her she answered for him. "By visiting you behind a locked cell?" Aria shrugged. "Luc seeing you in an orange jump-suite because that's what my dad wanted." Aria nodded towards him, the most serious she had been all night.

"That wouldn't have happened." Ezra groaned like the thought was preposterous. Without the alcohol he would have agreed with Aria, but in his state nothing seemed tangible.

"I was your student." Aria clarified. "I am still your student." She expressed by pointing towards herself. "It's only going to get worse with the town knowing the-"

"Since when have you cared about what anyone thinks?" Ezra blurted out.

His question was followed by the loud beep of her cell phone and leaving his question hanging in the air Aria unzipped her purse for her phone. Reading the message, she breathed a sigh of relief. Ella was taking Luc home and told Aria to just meet them there.

Aria knew she could sit here all night and argue with Ezra, but at this rate it wouldn't get anywhere. Not with him in this state. She had told him something's, whether she should have or not. She just hoped come morning along with a hangover, he would remember.

Deep down she didn't want a fight. She didn't want to play a war of whether or not he could see Luc. She wasn't ready to allow them to meet, but at least they had talked. She wasn't sure what Spencer's mom had discussed with Ezra, but she knew that no matter what she wanted to do this without lawyers.

Placing her phone back in her purse she placed it on the table to show him she was getting ready to leave. She thought about what he had asked her, taking a moment to think of the right words.

"I don't care about me." Aria replied, looking into his blue orbs. "I care about you." She nodded towards him. "Look," She sighed. "I came here to tell you that I'm sorry." She admitted. "I'm sorry for leaving you… For lying to you… For everything." She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "But I am not sorry for trying to keep Luc safe." Aria shook her head. "And that includes being here where you are." She finished.

She waited for him to say something, but all he did was stare at her. She knew that with nothing left to say it was time to go. Scooting to the end of the booth, Aria fixed her purse and stood. "Goodnight, Ezra." She whispered, giving him a weak smile.

Turning away, she walked towards the exit. They really hadn't solved their biggest issues, but it was a start. A start to something, to what it was she wasn't sure. No matter come what may, she did feel at peace with she had said and believed it to be true.

**And that's chapter Nine…a lot happened! Luc is okay, Ezra actually showed up at Aria's house, Ella knows something is going on, Spencer and Fitz had a stand-down, and Aria and Ezra talked…like for real this time! What are your thoughts?**

**So here's the deal with chapter 10…**The next two weeks are going to be a mad house for me. I have seven birthday parties clumped into a big celebration sometime next week. I think it's either on Friday or Saturday. Then…the follow Saturday I have a MAJOR test I have to take so my writing schedule is going to be on the back burner. I have half of chapter 10 written fully, the other half is all dialogue. With this being said…I'm not sure when my next update will be. Either sometime next week or it could be in two weeks. Still… I am going to provide you all with a sneak peek and I hope you will all continue to support my story, whenever it is I update. Good news is…once this test is over with I am your for the summer so I can really focus on this story. Please understand and thanks again for reading! :)

**PLEASE continue to REVIEW they help me know what your thoughts and ideas are about the story. If you leave me a review with your ****screen name whether your signed in or not I will be more than happy to reply. Feel free to leave me a review on my Twitter account too at HeartWritingFF or TheHeartofWritingFF. :)**

**Coming Up Next on Finding Home:**

"We…" Spencer drawled out, glancing between Emily and Hanna before back at Aria. "Know you said you wanted to stay in, but-"  
"We are taking you out for a girl's day: shopping, lunch, more shopping." Hanna cut her off, walking over to Aria and pulling her back over to the group. "And you can't say no." Hanna demanded.

{PLL}

"I told him someday." Aria swallowed. "I don't want to rush it." Aria glanced between her friends. "I mean," She paused. "Luc just got out of the hospital and with me blurting it out like that in class I don't want to subject Luc or Ezra to more attention." Aria detailed. Looking between her silent friends, she nervously asked. "I did the right thing…right?"

{PLL}

((The girls are shopping at a small boutique in Rosewood.))  
Hanna: This would look fabulous on you… ((Hanna holds up a fancy dress towards Aria's slim figure))  
Aria: No, ((Aria pushed it back towards Hanna)) that's more your style. Now… this is me. ((Aria holds up a solid colored shirt))  
Hanna: Be more daring, ((Hanna rolled her eyes, tossing the article of clothing in Aria's hands back onto the shelve)) you need animal print and Aztec designs not solids and plaids.

{PLL}

((While in the changing area, Aria runs into someone from her past and this person goes back to even before she left Rosewood.))  
Aria: J-Jenna? What are you doing here? ((Aria opens the changing room door shocked))  
Jenna: Shopping for a friend. So you're back in this tiny town? ((Jenna smirks behind her thick dark sunglasses))  
Aria: Yeah, I got back a week ago. ((Aria spoke slowly))  
Jenna: That's so funny… ((Jenna gave a small laugh)) about a week ago my videos went missing. ((Her voice growing sarcastic)) So you wouldn't happen know where they went would you? ((Jenna grew serious))

...

((Later in during Aria and Jenna's conversation))  
Aria: Look, I've changed. ((Aria took a step closer to Jenna)) I don't have time for the dirty secrets of Rosewood; I have enough to deal with. ((Aria looked to the side, hoping her friends couldn't overhear her little chat))  
Jenna: Yeah, and your still paying for it. ((Jenna reminded her, fixing her sunglasses))  
Aria: Drop it. ((Aria stated in a harsh whisper)) What my friends and I did to you was wrong, but don't hang this over my head. ((Aria shook her head angry)) If I remember correctly that was one of the rules too. ((Aria spoke clearly, remembering the people in the group and how they all had secrets, even on each other))  
Jenna: It was never stated. ((Jenna shot back))  
Aria: It was implied. ((Aria ended the conversation))

{PLL}

((Aria arrives home with bags full of clothes))  
Ella: I actually have a buyer for one my paintings, they live a town over so I was figuring to just stay in a hotel. It was last minute. I'm sorry. ((Ella states, packing a small overnight bag on her bed))  
Aria: No it's okay. ((Aria waves it off)) I'm happy for you; you work very hard on your paintings.  
Ella: Thank you, but if you need to me to stay- ((Ella looks timidly over at Aria))  
Aria: No, ((Aria confirmed)) we will be fine. Nothing Luc and I haven't dealt with before.

{PLL}

((In the early morning hours a knock arouses Ezra from his sleep on the couch))  
Ezra: Aria? What- what are you doing here? It's after midnight. ((He rubs his eyes, trying to wake himself up))  
Aria: I know… ((Aria swallowed her nerves)) I'm sorry. I just- I shouldn't have come. This was a mistake. ((She turned the stroller towards the hallway from which had just walked down))  
Ezra: No, wait. ((He grabbed her arm)) Come inside.

...

((With Luc asleep in his stroller Aria enters the apartment, frazzled))  
Aria: I shouldn't be here… Luc fell asleep on the way; I should just take him home. ((Aria makes for the door again))  
Ezra: Stay… You look exhausted and it's too cold to be out there with him. ((Ezra points towards the stroller. The blankets covering Luc made it difficult to see inside))  
Aria: I was walking around outside. ((Aria paced)) I wanted to talk to you, I just didn't know what to say. No one is home and Luc, ((Aria paused)) he was just driving me crazy. I-I-I couldn't sleep and all I could think about was how I wanted to leave again, but everything is so screwed up. ((Aria's breathing short as she continued to pace the small area))  
Ezra: Take a deep breath… ((Ezra stood and walked to her, stopping her movements by stepping in front of her.)) You want to sit down? Do you want to talk, because we can? ((All Aria could do was nod and walk over the couch))

...

((Ezra removes the two empty mugs from the coffee table and places them in the kitchen, his back to Aria))  
Ezra: You stay here… ((Ezra advises)) I'm going to go grab you a change of clothes. ((He walks into the kitchen, and then towards his dresser)) I got you a- blanket. ((She's curled up on the couch asleep. He gently places the blanket over her body.))

{PLL}

((With Aria asleep on his couch he was still awake from their talk. Ezra checks on Luc in his stroller, amazed at the miracle before him. Shuffling around the room, he starts going through his mail on the counter, seeing an envelope addressed from Hollis College.))

{PLL}

((A low buzzing caught Ezra's ears as he read over the letter for the second time. Turning towards the noise, he found the buzzing cellphone in Aria's purse. The caller ID flashed with Ella's name across it. Clicking the green button he brought the phone to his ear.))  
Ezra: Hello?

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